OpenAI trails Anthropic in AI coding tools as IPO race heats up
OpenAI’s chief executive Sam Altman told Wired that the company fell behind Anthropic in the race to dominate AI coding tools. Anthropic’s Claude Code was generating nearly $2.5 billion in annualized revenue by February 2026, about 20 % of Anthropic’s total business, while OpenAI’s Codex reported a little over $1 billion in annualized revenue at the end of January 2026.
Prediction‑market data from Kalshi shows traders betting that OpenAI will file for an initial public offering before Anthropic, with most of the betting volume favoring OpenAI as the first IPO candidate. The market sentiment reflects broader speculation about the valuation and strategic paths of the two leading generative‑AI firms.
Altman also revealed a personal habit that intersected with OpenAI’s pre‑IPO preparations: he briefly became “addicted” to TikTok to study user‑experience ideas for Sora, an AI‑video app OpenAI was developing, and later deleted the app altogether. Earlier, OpenAI had explored a roughly $3 billion acquisition of Windsurf, an AI‑coding startup, but the deal collapsed due to partnership complications with Microsoft. To close the gap with Anthropic, OpenAI has launched GPT‑5.5, aiming to improve performance on industry benchmarks.
Entities: Anthropic · Claude Code · Codex · OpenAI · Sam Altman
Claims
What the coverage asserts, and how well corroborated each claim is across sources.
- [○ 1 SOURCE] Prediction‑market betting volume shows most traders expect OpenAI to be the first AI firm to go public. (AI Giants IPO article)
- [○ 1 SOURCE] Sam Altman deleted his TikTok account after using it to study user experience for Sora, an AI video app, as part of OpenAI's pre‑IPO strategy. (Why Sam Altman deleted his TikTok account article)
- [○ 1 SOURCE] Prediction‑market data favors OpenAI to IPO before Anthropic. (AI Giants IPO article)
- [○ 1 SOURCE] Sam Altman admitted OpenAI fell behind Anthropic in AI coding tools race. (OpenAI CEO admission article)
- [○ 1 SOURCE] Anthropic's Claude Code generated nearly $2.5 billion in annualized revenue by February 2026, about 20 % of Anthropic's total business. (OpenAI CEO admission article)
- [○ 1 SOURCE] OpenAI launched GPT‑5.5 to close performance gaps on industry benchmarks. (OpenAI CEO admission article)
- [○ 1 SOURCE] OpenAI explored a roughly $3 billion acquisition of Windsurf, an AI coding startup, in 2025, but the deal collapsed. (OpenAI CEO admission article)
- [○ 1 SOURCE] OpenAI's Codex reported just over $1 billion in annualized revenue at the end of January 2026. (OpenAI CEO admission article)