Anthropic, the artificial intelligence company behind the Claude chatbot, has filed confidentially for an initial public offering. The filing, reported by Reuters, offers a rare look at the company's financial inner workings — and it shows just how much Anthropic leans on two of the world's largest technology firms.
According to Reuters, nearly half of Anthropic's 2025 revenue — about $2.16 billion, or 47% — flowed through cloud marketplaces operated by Amazon and Alphabet's Google. That's a sharp increase from 11% in 2023 and 32% in 2024. In other words, the share of Anthropic's sales coming through these two platforms has more than quadrupled in just two years.
Those marketplaces aren't a free channel. Reuters calculated that Anthropic paid roughly $351 million in marketplace fees, meaning Amazon and Google kept about 16 cents of every dollar sold through their platforms. Those fees are recorded as operating expenses, which eat into Anthropic's margins.
What exactly are cloud marketplaces?
Cloud marketplaces are digital storefronts run by major cloud providers like Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google Cloud. They allow businesses to buy and deploy software directly through their existing cloud accounts. For software vendors, listing on these marketplaces can be a powerful distribution channel because enterprise customers often prefer to consolidate purchases and billing through their cloud provider.
But the convenience comes at a cost. Cloud providers typically take a cut of each sale — in this case, about 16% — which can weigh on the vendor's profitability. For Anthropic, that means a significant portion of its revenue is shared with its two biggest partners.
The bigger picture: AI companies and Big Tech
Anthropic's reliance on Amazon and Google is part of a broader trend in the AI industry. Many leading AI startups depend on Big Tech for both computing power and distribution. Anthropic, for instance, has lined up massive computing commitments — likely with these same cloud providers — to train and run its AI models. That creates a symbiotic but potentially risky relationship: the cloud providers supply the infrastructure and the customers, but they also capture a slice of the revenue.
This dynamic is not unique to Anthropic. Other AI companies have similar arrangements, though the degree of dependence varies. For investors, the key question is whether this reliance is a strength or a vulnerability. On one hand, partnering with Amazon and Google gives Anthropic access to a vast enterprise customer base and reliable computing resources. On the other hand, it means a large chunk of revenue is subject to fees and the strategic priorities of two powerful partners.
The filing also comes amid broader scrutiny of AI companies' business models. As we've reported, cheaper AI models are winning corporate budgets, pressuring companies like Anthropic and OpenAI to justify their pricing. Meanwhile, Anthropic has been making moves to shore up its finances, such as cutting off AI discounts once enterprise clients hit usage caps.
What it means for investors
For everyday investors, Anthropic's IPO could be a chance to own a piece of a leading AI company. But the filing highlights some important considerations. First, the company's heavy dependence on Amazon and Google means its fortunes are closely tied to those two tech giants. If either partner changes its terms or shifts strategy, Anthropic's revenue could be affected.
Second, the marketplace fees represent a real cost. While 16 cents on the dollar might not sound like much, it adds up — especially as revenue grows. Investors will want to watch whether Anthropic can reduce this dependency over time or negotiate better terms.
Third, the IPO filing reportedly includes warnings about existential AI risks and gives founders 50.1% voting control, according to separate reports. Those are governance and risk factors that public-market investors should weigh carefully.
It's also worth noting that Anthropic's IPO is expected to be a major event, with some reports suggesting a $2 trillion valuation. While that number is speculative, it underscores the high expectations surrounding the company. As always, investors should focus on fundamentals — revenue growth, profitability, and competitive positioning — rather than hype.
Anthropic's filing is confidential for now, meaning the full details aren't yet public. But the Reuters report gives a preview of the challenges and opportunities ahead. For a company at the forefront of AI, its close ties to Big Tech are both a lifeline and a limitation. How Anthropic manages that balance will be a key story to watch as it moves toward going public.
