Anthropic’s Multi-Cloud Strategy

According to The Information, Krishna Rao, the CFO of Anthropic, has addressed the company’s significant computing power challenges. Under his leadership, Anthropic has secured agreements with three major cloud service providers: Google, Amazon, and Microsoft. This multi-cloud strategy allows Anthropic’s models to run on chips from Nvidia, Google, and Amazon, giving the company an edge over its main competitor, OpenAI, by overcoming the computing bottleneck that plagues many AI firms.

Rao joined Anthropic in 2024, having previously worked at Bain & Company, Blackstone, and Airbnb, where he led the company’s IPO in 2020. In just two years, he has turned Anthropic’s gross margin from -94% to +40%, and its annual revenue has surged from under $1 billion to $30 billion as of early April this year.

Additionally, Rao has facilitated a total of $60 billion in funding, boosting the company’s valuation to $380 billion by January 2026, with an IPO potentially on the horizon this fall.

Driving Multi-Cloud and Chip Partnerships

Upon joining, Rao’s first initiative was to diversify Anthropic’s computing power sources, which were previously reliant on a single cloud provider. He advocated for a new approach, collaborating with multiple chip suppliers and cloud vendors. Byron Deeter, a partner at Bessemer Venture Partners and an investor in Anthropic, noted Rao’s clear judgment that having more partners would accelerate Anthropic’s growth.

Now, Anthropic has agreements with Google, Amazon, and Microsoft, allowing it to run models on various chips. This proactive strategy has positioned Anthropic ahead of OpenAI, which is only now beginning to adopt a similar multi-cloud approach.

Rao is also reportedly leading an important joint venture project within Anthropic, aimed at selling AI solutions to investment portfolio companies of private equity firms like Blackstone. Recently, he met with Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon and several investors in the Bahamas to discuss this initiative.

Significant Funding and Valuation Growth

In the competitive AI landscape, Rao’s role is more complex than that of a typical startup CFO. Beyond standard merger and acquisition tasks, he must address the massive capital requirements for AI development, particularly for increasingly scarce cloud vendor chip clusters.

In a recent $30 billion funding round, Chris Emanuel from Singapore’s government investment company highlighted Rao’s deep technical understanding of the business. Since joining, Rao has led multiple funding rounds, raising a total of $60 billion and increasing the company’s valuation to $380 billion by January 2026.

In September of last year, venture capital firm Iconiq co-led a funding round that valued Anthropic at $183 billion. Iconiq partner Matt Jacobson praised Rao for clearly communicating the company’s growth narrative to investors with high transparency.

Currently, Anthropic has no immediate funding plans, with discussions on future financing options expected during the May board meeting. Some investors have reportedly offered to invest at an $800 billion valuation, with speculation that the valuation could even reach $1 trillion.

Rao is also focused on the potential IPO. While the company has not publicly announced its listing plans, it may launch as early as this fall. Rao’s experience from Airbnb’s IPO will be crucial as Anthropic prepares for this significant milestone.

Contrast with OpenAI’s CFO

Rao stands in stark contrast to his counterpart at OpenAI, Sarah Friar, who has a high profile in Silicon Valley and actively engages with the media as OpenAI prepares for its IPO. Rao, on the other hand, avoids the spotlight and is reportedly the only AI executive of his stature who has never appeared on a tech podcast. He declined an interview for this article through a spokesperson.

Both Anthropic and OpenAI compete for the same chips, investors, employees, and customers. Recently, Anthropic’s revenue has surged, with an annualized figure exceeding $30 billion, significantly outpacing OpenAI’s projected revenue of $21 billion by the end of 2025.

However, this rapid growth has led to scrutiny, with OpenAI hinting at concerns over whether Anthropic has secured sufficient AI servers. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has emphasized that accurately predicting the company’s future computing needs is critical to its success. Much of this responsibility falls on Rao.

Rao’s Background and Career Path

Rao was born in Minneapolis and raised in Southern California and Minnesota. He graduated summa cum laude from Harvard University in 2005 with a degree in economics, then worked as a consultant at Bain & Company for three years before earning a law degree from Yale Law School. Instead of pursuing a legal career, he joined Blackstone.

Initially, Rao’s lack of investment banking experience raised doubts during his interview with Blackstone, but he impressed executives with his intelligence and sense of humor. His negotiation skills stood out, particularly when he represented Blackstone in board meetings after taking a company private.

In 2015, Rao shifted his focus to the West Coast, choosing Airbnb over Uber, where he reunited with Laurence Tosi, who had transitioned from Blackstone to Airbnb’s CFO. Rao quickly rose through the ranks, overseeing business development and leading significant investments and acquisitions.

During Airbnb’s IPO preparations in early 2020, Rao played a crucial role in securing emergency financing amid the pandemic’s impact on the business. The company eventually went public in December 2020, achieving a valuation of $47 billion and raising over $3.5 billion.

After leaving Airbnb, Rao held brief CFO roles at Cedar and Fanatics before considering a position at Anthropic. His expertise in financing and understanding of the public market made him an ideal candidate for the role.

Transforming Anthropic’s Financial Landscape

Before Rao’s arrival, Anthropic’s operations were primarily managed by co-founder Tom Brown, who needed a CFO with a financing background. When Rao joined in 2024, the company’s valuation was around $15 billion, with annual revenue in the low hundreds of millions. The board had primarily focused on technical and policy issues, but Rao introduced business and financial performance metrics to the agenda.

His first major initiative was to improve gross margins and manage computing resources. Reports indicate that Anthropic’s gross margin flipped from -94% in 2024 to +40% in 2025, while annual revenue surged from under $1 billion to $9 billion.

By April 2026, annual revenue had reached $30 billion, nearly achieving the previous forecast for the end of 2026. Rao also established a mergers and acquisitions team, bringing in Andrew Zloto, a former partner at SoftBank Vision Fund, to help with these efforts.

Anthropic has taken a cautious approach to acquisitions, preferring smaller deals under $500 million that target companies with cutting-edge technology or talented researchers. Despite this, interest from banks and investors remains high, with the company leveraging Claude to filter and analyze incoming inquiries.

Strict Financing Terms and Major Power Contracts

Jonathan Mildenhall, former CMO of Airbnb and now at Fanatics, described Rao as someone who “keeps a very tight grip” on operations. This approach is evident in Anthropic’s financing strategy, where investors compete to participate in funding rounds, often facing strict terms.

In a recent $13 billion funding round, Anthropic required investors to commit substantial amounts, with some venture funds finding it challenging to meet these demands. Even those who secured funding often left disappointed due to high demand.

For AI CFOs, securing financing is only half the battle; managing computing contracts is equally critical. Rao has negotiated and managed several key agreements to ensure Anthropic has sufficient servers for training and running models, including a $30 billion cloud server deal with Microsoft and a commitment to use up to 1 million Google TPUs.

Recently, Anthropic announced new partnerships with Broadcom and Google to secure multi-gigawatt data center power. These agreements complement existing collaborations with Amazon AWS, where executives have praised Rao’s long-term vision.

Bessemer’s Deeter believes Rao has managed these pressures effectively, stating, “This is the hottest company for investment right now, and he has managed that dynamic very well. He delivers on his promises without overcommitting.”

Conclusion: IPO on the Horizon

Since Rao joined Anthropic, the company’s valuation has skyrocketed from $15 billion to $380 billion, with annual revenue climbing from a few hundred million to $30 billion as of April this year. His multi-cloud strategy, computing procurement, acquisition pace, and financing terms have transformed Anthropic from a research lab into a capital-intensive operation.

At the current pace, Anthropic may initiate its IPO this fall, and Rao’s experience from Airbnb’s 2020 listing will be invaluable as he navigates this next significant phase.