Anthropic, the artificial intelligence company behind the Claude chatbot, announced Monday that it has confidentially filed for an initial public offering with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The filing marks a significant milestone in the company's race with rival OpenAI to become the next major AI firm to go public.

The confidential filing sets the stage for what industry observers expect could be one of the largest IPOs in U.S. history. Anthropic has experienced explosive growth over the past year, driven largely by demand for its Claude AI assistant and technology that can automatically write computer code. The company's valuation has surged as investors have poured billions into AI companies.

Salesforce's investment in Anthropic is now valued at approximately $5 billion, according to recent reports. The enterprise software company has been among several major investors backing Anthropic as competition intensifies in the generative AI market.

The timing of Anthropic's filing gives it a head start over OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, in reaching public markets. Both companies have been viewed as leading candidates for blockbuster IPOs as the AI boom continues to attract massive investor interest and drive trillion-dollar valuations in the sector.

The confidential filing allows Anthropic to begin the IPO process while keeping financial details private until closer to the actual public offering. The company has not disclosed a timeline for when shares might become available to public investors.