What Anthropic’s too-dangerous-to-release AI model means for the AI race

For a company valued at around $380 billion and reportedly preparing for an IPO this year, it’s an unusual stance—but one that could pay off in the long run.

The new AI model is called Claude Mythos, and it’s the first one Anthropic has publicly deemed too high-risk for public release. (If that name is familiar to you, it’s probably because you heard it here first a few weeks ago when Fortune broke the story about blog posts referencing the model discovered on a publicly-accessible data trove.) Rival AI lab OpenAI once made a similar call back in 2019 by initially withholding GPT-2 over concerns it could be misused to generate convincing fake text—a time when Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei was still working for Sam Altman.

This time, Amodei is taking a different approach. The company said on Tuesday it was rolling out Mythos through an invitation-only initiative called Project Glasswing, restricted to defensive cybersecurity work and limited to around 40 organizations. It’s aimed at giving cyber defenders a head start on securing some of the world’s most critical software systems from the looming security risks posed by advanced AI models and includes partners such as Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, and Cisco.

But what does all of this mean for Anthropic’s standing in the AI race and its rumored upcoming IPO? A few things.

As my colleague Jeremy Kahn notes, Anthropic has been on a bit of a tear recently. The company has hit a $30 billion annual revenue run rate—a figure that implies a 58% revenue surge in March alone, and edges past the $25 billion run rate OpenAI reported in February. (The comparison isn’t exact as the two companies calculate run rates differently, but the direction of both paths is clear.)

Now, the company has developed a model that, according to its own benchmarks, significantly outperforms its competitors. It’s also found a way to forge an even closer partnership with some of the biggest players in enterprise tech. This is all in spite of the company’s very public fight with the Trump administration and two accidental, but high-profile, leaks.

As well as being a responsible safety initiative, Project Glasswing is also just pretty great brand-building, according to Paulo Shakarian, a Professor of artificial intelligence at Syracuse University. 

By creating a tightly controlled consortium and working directly with industry partners, Anthropic is “taking a lead in the industry as to mitigating these new risks,” he told Fortune. It’s an approach that Shakarian says “plays really well with the chief security officers of the world.” In a field that relies on regularly sharing threat intelligence, that kind of collaboration is likely to win Anthropic some favor and could strengthen the company’s standing with enterprise customers. 

But Mythos’ new and improved capabilities also come at a cost. According to Richard Whaling, lead researcher of cybersecurity startup Charlemagne Labs, Anthropic may have more than just safety concerns on its mind when it comes to the powerful AI model.

“I share Anthropic’s concerns around Mythos’ potential misuse, but I think there is also a resource limitation at play,” he said. “Anthropic has not announced how large Mythos is, but has implied that it is many times larger—and more expensive—than Claude Opus. I think it is likely that they simply do not have the GPU and other compute resources available to serve it at scale.”

In other words: Anthropic may have built something both too dangerous and potentially too expensive to commercialize at scale in its current state.

How long Mythos stays out of reach for consumers and enterprise customers is unclear. Anthropic has said they are already working on safeguards for the model. AI models tend to become cheaper and more practical over time. Some customers might also be willing to pay a premium for the capabilities. The lab has already said it will cover the first $100 million in costs for Glasswing participants, and early estimates suggest it could charge participants roughly five times more to use Mythos than its predecessor, Opus.

Not to be counted out quite yet, OpenAI is also reportedly on the verge of realizing a new model and is planning a similar rollout for a separate product with advanced cybersecurity capabilities. But for now, Anthropic is in an enviable position in the ever-changing AI race: ahead on capability and increasingly aligned with the kinds of enterprise and security customers it’s trying to sell to.

See you next week,

Beatrice Nolan
X: @beafreyanolan
Email: bea.nolan@fortune.com
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VENTURE CAPITAL

– SiFive, a Santa Clara, Calif.-based developer of customized semiconductors, raised $400 million in Series G funding. Atreides Management led the round and was joined by Apollo Global Management, NVIDIA, Point72, Turion, and others.

– Chapter, a New York City-based Medicare navigation platform, raised $100 million in Series E funding. Generation Investment Management led the round and was joined by Fifth Down Capital, 8VC, and existing investors.

– Click Therapeutics, a New York City-based developer of digital therapeutics for medical needs, raised $50 million in Series D funding from Boehringer Ingelheim.

– Luminai, a San Francisco-based enterprise automation platform designed for health care operations, raised $38 million in Series B funding. Peak XV Partners led the round and was joined by Define Ventures and existing investors General Catalyst and Y Combinator.

– AfterQuery, a San Francisco-based applied data solutions research lab, raised $30 million in Series A funding. Altos Ventures led the round and was joined by The Raine Group and existing investors Y Combinator and BoxGroup.

– Hybron, an El Segundo, Calif.-based composites manufacturing company, raised $25 million in seed funding from Marque Ventures, Ultratech Capital Partners, Mantis Ventures, First In Capital, and others.

– Pipe, a San Francisco-based financial solutions company for small businesses, raised $16 million in funding. Fin Capital and MaC Venture Capital led the round. 

– Rork, a San Francisco-based AI-powered mobile app builder, raised $15 million in seed funding. Left Lane Capital led the round and was joined by Peak XV, True Ventures, Goodwater, and existing investor a16z Speedrun.

– Haast, a New York City-based AI-powered enterprise compliance engine, raised $12 million in Series A funding. Peak XV Partners led the round and was joined by DST Global Partners, Airtree, Aura Ventures, and Black Sheep Capital.

– Juno, a San Diego, Calif.-based tax prep automation platform designed for tax professionals, raised $12 million in seed funding. Bonfire Ventures led the round and was joined by Impression Ventures and X Fund.

– Blocks, a Berlin, Germany-based agentic developer operations platform, raised $6 million in pre-seed funding. Speedinvest led the round and was joined by Caesar Ventures and others.

– Sigma Automate, an Atlanta, Ga.-based AI-powered IT automation company, raised $2.8 million in funding. Glasswing Ventures led the round and was joined by angel investors.

PRIVATE EQUITY

– GTR acquired Zentiva, a Prague, Czech Republic-based genetic pharmaceutical company. Financial terms were not disclosed.

– Havencrest Capital Management acquired OFFOR Health, a Worthington, Ohio-based provider of anesthesia services for complex pediatric dental procedures. Financial terms were not disclosed. 

– LivTech, backed by PSG, acquired Alora Healthcare Systems, an Atlanta, Ga.-based developer of home health care software. Financial terms were not disclosed.

– No Dig Alliance, backed by Ambienta, acquired Altiva, a Godvik, Norway-based pipe inspection, pipe flushing, and manhole rehabilitation company. Financial terms were not disclosed.

– Uplift Investors acquired IMS Legal Strategies, a Dallas, Texas-based expertise and technology partner to law firms and corporations. Financial terms were not disclosed.

IPOs

– Aevex, a Solana Beach, Calif.-based defense technology company, plans to raise up to $336 million in an offering of 16 million shares priced between $18 and $21 on the New York Stock Exchange. The company posted $433 million in revenue for the year ended Dec. 31. MDP Funds backs the company. 

– Avalyn Pharma, a Boston, Mass.-based developer of therapies for respiratory diseases, filed to go public on the Nasdaq. F-Prime Capital Partners, Eventide Fund, Norwest Venture Partners, Novo Holdings, Perceptive, SR One Capital, Vida Ventures, and Wellington Biomedical Fund back the company.

FUNDS + FUNDS OF FUNDS

– Court Square Capital Partners, a New York City-based private equity firm, raised $3.8 billion for its fifth fund focused on companies in the business services, health care, industrials, and tech industries.

– Percheron Capital, a San Francisco and New York City-based private equity firm, raised $3.1 billion for its third fund focused on essential services companies.

– Collide Capital, a New York City-based venture capital firm, raised $95 million for its second fund focused on fintech, supply chain, and future of work companies.

PEOPLE

– Ada Ventures, a London, U.K.-based venture capital firm, hired Tonje Ørnholt as venture partner for the Nordics. Previously, she was with Oslo Business Region.

– Transom Capital Group, an El Segundo, Calif.-based private equity firm, appointed Luke Dauch as a principal on the firm’s business development team.