Anthropic is considering launching a new artificial intelligence model as it responds to growing momentum around OpenAI’s recently released GPT-6 Astra, according to people familiar with the company’s plans.
The discussions come at a notable moment for Anthropic. The company’s chief executive, Dario Amodei, recently called for the AI industry to slow the pace at which increasingly capable models are developed, citing concerns about the potential risks associated with rapid advances in artificial intelligence.
At the same time, Anthropic is preparing for a potential initial public offering, adding commercial and investor considerations to the company’s decision over how quickly to release another model. Reuters reported that the company could potentially delay its IPO until after the November US midterm elections, meaning the exact timing of a listing remains uncertain.
Anthropic weighs response to GPT-6 Astra
OpenAI released GPT-6 Astra on September 3, positioning it as a major advance in areas including computer use, software engineering, cybersecurity and professional work.
The model has reportedly gained traction among businesses and developers since its launch.
According to data cited by Reuters from corporate-spending tracker Ramp, GPT-6 Astra accounted for about 13% of tracked enterprise AI spending, compared with approximately 8% for Anthropic's Claude Fable.
OpenRouter, a platform that allows developers to route requests across different AI models, also reported that spending on OpenAI models exceeded spending on Anthropic models among its users during the latest measured week. Reuters said this was the first time OpenAI had led Anthropic on that measure in more than two and a half years.
Those developments have prompted questions among some investors about whether OpenAI could begin taking market share from Anthropic in enterprise AI, an area where Anthropic has built a strong position.
No new Claude model has been confirmed
Although Anthropic is reportedly discussing a new model, the company has not announced that a new Claude model will definitely be released.
Reuters reported that three people familiar with the situation said Anthropic was considering a rollout designed to respond to OpenAI's momentum.
The company is also evaluating the safety of its next model as part of the discussions.
Anthropic declined to comment on the report.
That means there is currently no confirmed name, launch date or specification for the potential model.
The decision is reportedly being considered alongside questions about how much the company should spend on developing and releasing new models while also strengthening profitability.
Amodei's call for an AI slowdown
The possible new model comes only days after Amodei publicly argued that AI development should proceed more slowly.
In a September 12 essay, the Anthropic CEO wrote that the industry should slow the rate at which AI capabilities improve because of the potential risks posed by increasingly powerful systems.
Amodei has previously argued that advanced AI could create significant risks if capabilities develop faster than society's ability to control and govern them.
His latest position has attracted attention because Anthropic is simultaneously considering whether to accelerate the release of another model in response to competitive pressure from OpenAI.
The situation illustrates the tension facing major AI companies: developing increasingly capable systems can create competitive and commercial advantages, while the same advances raise questions about safety and responsible deployment.
Anthropic still has substantial revenue growth
Despite the reported pressure from GPT-6 Astra, Anthropic continues to report rapid growth.
Reuters reported that Anthropic's annualised revenue run rate had exceeded $65 billion by the end of July, compared with roughly $9 billion at the end of 2025.
The company is projecting annual revenue of approximately $190 billion to $200 billion by 2028, according to Reuters.
OpenAI's annualised revenue run rate, meanwhile, surpassed $40 billion in July.
The figures show the scale of the commercial competition between the two companies as they seek to establish their models as essential tools for businesses.
Anthropic has built much of its recent growth around enterprise customers, particularly companies using Claude for coding, research, professional work and AI agents.
IPO plans add another layer of pressure
Anthropic has already taken steps toward becoming a publicly traded company.
The company confidentially filed for an IPO in June, although it has not yet publicly set a share price, number of shares or final listing date.
At the time of the filing, TechCrunch reported that Anthropic had been valued at approximately $965 billion following a $65 billion Series H funding round.
More recent reports have suggested that investors could value the company at around $2 trillion in a potential November offering, but that figure is an expected valuation rather than a confirmed IPO price or completed transaction.
Reuters reported that Anthropic could also push the offering until after the November US elections.
Therefore, the reported November IPO should be treated as a potential timetable rather than a confirmed listing date.
Competition extends beyond OpenAI
Anthropic's competitive challenge is not limited to OpenAI.
Reuters also pointed to the increasing availability of open-source and open-weight AI models, particularly from Chinese developers.
Such models can allow companies to run AI systems more cheaply and with greater control over their infrastructure, potentially reducing reliance on commercial providers such as Anthropic and OpenAI.
Meta is also developing more AI capabilities internally and has reportedly been looking to reduce some of its dependence on Anthropic's models.
That means the leading AI companies are competing on several fronts simultaneously: model performance, enterprise adoption, computing costs, pricing, safety, developer ecosystems and access to computing infrastructure.
Safety versus competitive pressure
Anthropic has built much of its public identity around AI safety.
The company has repeatedly emphasized responsible development and evaluation of increasingly capable models.
Its latest deliberations therefore present an important strategic question: how can Anthropic remain competitive when rivals are releasing increasingly powerful systems while maintaining the safety standards that the company says are central to its approach?
A new Claude model would potentially allow Anthropic to respond more directly to GPT-6 Astra's growing adoption.
At the same time, rushing a model to market could create additional safety and testing requirements, particularly given Amodei's own argument that AI development is advancing too quickly.
Reuters reported that Anthropic is evaluating the safety of the potential next model as part of its decision-making process.
Claude remains central to Anthropic's strategy
Anthropic's own recent announcements show that the company continues to invest heavily in Claude and its enterprise business.
In February, Anthropic announced a $30 billion Series G funding round that valued the company at $380 billion. The company said at the time that its annualised revenue had reached $14 billion and that the number of customers spending more than $100,000 annually on Claude had increased sevenfold over the preceding year.
Those figures have since been surpassed according to Reuters' later reporting, illustrating the rapid pace at which Anthropic's business has expanded.
The company therefore enters the latest model race from a position of substantial growth, even as OpenAI's latest release creates new competitive pressure.
What happens next
For now, Anthropic has not committed publicly to launching another model specifically to counter GPT-6 Astra.
The company is weighing the potential benefits of responding to OpenAI's momentum against the cost of developing another frontier system, the safety work required before release and the expectations surrounding its potential IPO.
The decision could become an important test of Anthropic's strategy.
A new model could help the company defend its enterprise position, while delaying a release could allow Anthropic more time to evaluate safety and improve profitability.
Meanwhile, OpenAI's GPT-6 Astra has added another layer of competition to an AI market already moving at extraordinary speed.
Anthropic's eventual decision will therefore be watched not only by AI developers and enterprise customers, but also by investors assessing the company's prospects ahead of a possible public listing.
For now, the company is balancing three competing priorities: maintaining its safety-focused approach, responding to rapidly changing competition and preparing for what could become one of the largest technology IPOs in history.
