Anthropic’s annualized revenue soars to $19 billion, plans to partner with Blackstone to establish an AI consulting company

Anthropic is accelerating its commercial expansion, with business scale and strategic deployment advancing in tandem. According to The Information, Anthropic is negotiating with an alliance of private equity firms led by Blackstone and Hellman & Friedman, intending to jointly establish a new AI-focused joint venture. The venture will sell Claude technology and consulting services to companies invested in by these institutions. At the same time, Anthropic’s annualized revenue has surpassed $19 billion, nearly doubling from last year’s $9 billion, and the revenue gap with OpenAI is rapidly narrowing. The negotiations were temporarily hindered by Anthropic's recent dispute with the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD). Some Blackstone executives were cautious about publicly announcing a partnership with Anthropic amidst the Pentagon controversy—Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman is a significant Republican donor and close to Trump. However, according to insiders, talks are still ongoing, and an agreement may be reached. Annualized Revenue Surges, Commercialization Accelerates Anthropic's business growth momentum is strong, with its core drivers being the coding tool Claude Code and workplace automation product Cowork. These two products have generated widespread attention in the enterprise market over the past few months. Annualized revenue jumped from $9 billion at the end of last year to $19 billion, with remarkable growth, allowing this relatively young AI company to rapidly catch up in revenue scale with OpenAI, which has enjoyed several years of head start. Although Anthropic stated in court filings that its conflict with the DOD could negatively impact its business, this incident has brought it significant global attention, drawing both consumer and business interest that previously knew little about the company. Anthropic has filed a lawsuit in federal court seeking to block the DOD’s decision. Following the Palantir Model, Expanding into the Private Equity Ecosystem According to insiders, the negotiations have lasted several months. Initially, Blackstone explored using Anthropic’s AI for its own portfolio companies; more recently, both parties and other private equity firms discussed establishing an independent joint venture dedicated to this business. Before engaging with Anthropic, Blackstone had also considered similar arrangements with OpenAI. The proposed joint venture will adopt a model similar to Palantir, providing AI integration consulting services to help companies implement Anthropic technology. This approach closely resembles OpenAI’s strategy—OpenAI is currently recruiting large teams of technical consultants to customize AI solutions and automation processes for major enterprises. The investment size for the joint venture has not been disclosed. Blackstone owns more than 250 portfolio companies, including project management software Smartsheet and dating app Bumble. Private equity firms generally face pressure to cut costs, and are highly motivated to use AI to boost employee efficiency and reduce labor expenses. Notably, Blackstone has previously invested in Anthropic, holding about $1 billion in equity and valuing the company at approximately $380 billion; Blackstone is also an investor in OpenAI. Risk Disclaimer Markets involve risks. Investment requires caution. This article does not constitute personal investment advice and does not take into account the specific investment objectives, financial situation, or needs of individual users. Users should evaluate whether any opinions, views, or conclusions in this article are suitable for their specific circumstances. Investing based on this article is at your own risk.