Anthropic has significantly increased its latest fundraising target, doubling it from $10 billion to $20 billion, according to a report by the Financial Times. The round, expected to close soon, would value the AI company at $350 billion, making it one of the most valuable private tech firms in the world. The surge in funding ambition comes amid strong investor demand, driven by the growing success of Anthropic’s AI models, including the widely used Claude and Claude Code. The company, known for its focus on safety and alignment in AI development, has seen rising momentum as its models gain traction across enterprises and developers. The expanded funding round is being led by major institutional investors, including Sequoia Capital—also a backer of Anthropic’s rival OpenAI—Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, and investment firm Coatue. This latest move follows Anthropic’s earlier $13 billion funding round in September, which valued the company at $183 billion. That round already positioned Anthropic as a top-tier player in the AI race, second only to OpenAI in terms of private valuation. The company has also been preparing for a potential public offering, having recently hired legal counsel as part of its IPO readiness efforts. While no official date has been set, insiders suggest an initial public offering could happen later this year, depending on market conditions and regulatory developments. With its expanded funding goal, Anthropic is aiming to accelerate research, scale infrastructure, and expand its global team—particularly in engineering, AI safety, and product development. The move underscores the intense competition among AI startups to secure capital, talent, and market share as the industry moves toward more advanced, general-purpose models.