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AI Regulation · Anthropic · IPO Strategy · OpenAI
OpenAI and Anthropic face significant criticism for repeatedly issuing warnings about AI risks just before their initial public offerings, with analysts and industry figures accusing them of employing a deliberate tactic to attract investors and influence government policies to eliminate competitors.
Both AI giants are fiercely competing to develop more powerful models while simultaneously preparing for IPOs, sparking strong skepticism. The companies warn of a scenario where AI systems design next-generation AI with minimal human intervention; Anthropic suggested this is possible, and OpenAI predicted this technology would appear by March 2028.
OpenAI views this as a goal controllable with safety corridors, while Anthropic publicly warns of "losing control." Critics, including tech entrepreneur David Sacks and leading French AI researcher Yann LeCun, accuse Anthropic of spreading misinformation to push for regulations that create legal barriers for rivals. The "Stop AI" movement, through scholar Gary Marcus, dismisses these commitments as pre-IPO marketing.
Meredith Whittaker, president of Signal, argues the real dangers are present, citing job losses, expanded surveillance, and power concentration, not distant future scenarios. Despite proposing international cooperation to slow industry growth, both OpenAI and Anthropic continue launching new models every four to six weeks to attract investment.
The timing of these safety commitments, coinciding with preliminary IPO applications in early June 2026, raises serious credibility questions.
