{"text":[[{"start":13.9,"text":"Anthropic told investors that its third-quarter revenue had jumped 50 per cent to $16.8bn and that the company was profitable, as the AI group looks to rally support for a blockbuster public listing amid concern about the AI trade."}],[{"start":29.42,"text":"The start-up gathered investors in its San Francisco office on Wednesday for a full day of presentations, with executives laying out how a safety-focused philosophy, rapid growth and efficiency gains would position Anthropic for a successful initial public offering in November."}],[{"start":45.8,"text":"The $965bn start-up told investors that it was profitable on an adjusted basis in the three months to September for the second quarter in a row, according to multiple people with knowledge of the matter. Revenues were up from $11.5bn in the three months to June."}],[{"start":62.7,"text":"That rapid growth is still slower than the blistering pace set by Anthropic earlier in the year: revenue more than doubled between the first and second quarters, from around $4.8bn in the first three months of the year."}],[{"start":75.64,"text":"Investors have been anxiously poised for an update on the group’s financial performance. Anthropic’s revenue figures, along with those of rival OpenAI, are a crucial gauge of its growth and ability to keep spending on the infrastructure at the heart of the financial boom around AI."}],[{"start":91.4,"text":"Chips and data centres, which are essential for AI labs to train and run their models, are the company’s biggest expense."}],[{"start":98.96,"text":"Anthropic added that it was cash flow positive and banking $1.70 in revenue for every $1 spent on computing power in the third quarter, according to the people with knowledge of the matter. The company said its operating margins were 11 per cent."}],[{"start":113.88,"text":"Anthropic declined to comment."}],[{"start":115.56,"text":"The Claude maker’s listing is widely expected to be the most highly valued IPO of all time. But a series of cases of hacking and other misbehaviour by AI models in recent months, and escalating warnings about the risks of the technology, have made it difficult for investors to value the company."}],[{"start":132.48,"text":"In an early iteration of the S-1 filing circulated to a small group of investors last month, almost a third of the document was devoted to “risk factors”, including the possibility of AI models showing unpredictable and malicious behaviours."}],[{"start":147.24,"text":"Anthropic warned investors its technology could pose “existential risks to humanity”. The company devoted a large chunk of its investor presentation on Wednesday to explaining its philosophy and approach to safety issues."}],[{"start":160.12,"text":"Wall Street must also answer more conventional questions around whether Anthropic can sustain its breakneck pace of growth amid growing competition from OpenAI, Meta and others."}],[{"start":171.58,"text":"Rising interest rates and a more challenging macroeconomic environment could also put a brake on the company’s plans to spend more than $500bn on infrastructure and computing power over the next decade."}],[{"start":183.123,"text":"US chip stocks fell sharply on Wednesday on rising inflation and concerns about rampant borrowing to finance the AI boom."}],[{"start":197.32,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1792023290_7177.mp3"}