The Verge interprets Anthropic's S-1: A compute commitment of roughly $850 billion bets on recursive self-improvement

A The Verge author analyzed Anthropic's S-1 filing and concluded that its business model relies on rapid growth. In the first half of 2026, revenue grew 14 times year-over-year to $16.3 billion, with a net revenue retention rate of 900%. However, total non-cancelable purchase commitments amounted to only $265.6 million, plus lease agreements not yet started totaling $321.4 million and other agreements, representing at least approximately $850 billion in commitments over the next 20 years.