AI startup Anthropic close to $3.5 billion fundraise, sources say

Changes sourcing, adds industry context in paragraphs 4-6

Feb 24 (Reuters) - AI startup Anthropic is seeking $3.5 billion in a funding round that would value it at $61.5 billion, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday.

The startup behind the Claude chatbot could receive backing from venture firms Lightspeed Venture Partners, General Catalyst and Bessemer Venture Partners, the sources said.

The funding round would be larger than the $2 billion the company was seeking to raise according to a Reuters report last month.

Venture capital heavyweights have rushed to pour into AI-linked startups, with nearly half of all funding dollars raised last year in the U.S. going to these companies, to capitalize on the future prospects of a booming technology.

The funding talks at Anthropic also underscore the appeal of U.S. AI startups, despite the emergence of China's lower-cost alternative DeepSeek rattling some investors.

OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, is in talks for a mega funding round that could value it at up to $300 billion, Reuters has reported.

Anthropic did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The fundraise was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.

A major rival of OpenAI in the foundation model space, Anthropic was co-founded by former executives at the Sam Altman-led startup, and siblings Dario and Daniela Amodei.

It was valued at around $18 billion in a fundraise led by Menlo Ventures last year.

On Monday, the company also launched an advanced AI model, called Claude 3.7 Sonnet, that can produce faster responses or display its step-by-step reasoning process, as it looks to gain a competitive edge in the generative artificial intelligence industry.