Anthropic: $16.8 Billion in Q3, Declining Distillation

Before its IPO, Anthropic presented its investors with significantly increased quarterly results and positive margins. The company also clarified the role of distillation in its operations and indicated that it has substantially reduced this practice in the third quarter.

Distillation accounts for 5 to 7% of revenue and declines in Q3

Anthropic states that distillation represents between 5% and 7% of its revenue and claims to have significantly reduced this practice during the third quarter. Distillation, described as training models on the outputs of more advanced systems, is presented as controversial. According to rough calculations, if distillation accounted for 5% of revenue in Q2, other labs would have spent over $500 million to distill Anthropic's models during that quarter.

Profitability and efficiency: $1.70 for every $1 of compute in Q3

In the third quarter, Anthropic reports generating $1.70 in revenue for every dollar spent on computing power. The adjusted operating margin rate, excluding stock-based compensation, reaches 11%. Q3 revenue hits $16.8 billion, with the company mentioning an approximate 50% increase in its quarterly revenue ahead of its IPO.

Quarterly trajectory and IPO timeline

Anthropic estimates about $4.8 billion in Q1, followed by $11.5 billion in Q2, covering the periods January–March and April–June, respectively. Q3, covering July–September, peaks at $16.8 billion. The company is preparing for its IPO and has presented these figures to investors, with several details coming from well-informed sources on the matter.