For those who spent the week "monitoring the situation" in the Middle East more than in private growth companies — here's your catch-up.

OpenAI and Anthropic went to war on every front: at the Pentagon, in press statements, in the app stores, and in new revenue numbers. SpaceX is targeting the largest IPO in history. Anduril is raising at $60B and expects to double revenue. And Britain's neobanks are all filing for US banking licenses at the same time.

The AI Cold War in Washington Got Personal

Last Friday, President Trump directed all federal agencies to stop using Anthropic's AI technology, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth designated the company a "supply chain risk." The same day, OpenAI announced a deal with the Department of Defense to deploy its models in classified environments.

Both moves backfired.

Consumers rallied behind Anthropic, pushing Claude to the top of the U.S. iOS App Store — a spot normally held by ChatGPT and occasionally challenged by Google's Gemini. In late January, before it ran a Super Bowl ad, Claude ranked 131st in the U.S., according to data cited by CNBC. OpenAI's Pentagon deal had the opposite effect: a massive surge of users uninstalled ChatGPT from their phones on Saturday, TechCrunch reported.

Behind the scenes, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei sent staff a 1,600-word memo. Beyond calling OpenAI's messaging on the Pentagon issue "mendacious," Amodei attributed the administration's targeting of Anthropic partly to the fact that "we haven't given dictator-style praise to Trump (while Sam has)."

By Tuesday, Reuters reported that some Anthropic investors had contacted the Trump administration to try to calm things down. By Thursday, Amodei walked back "the tone of the post," saying it didn't reflect his "careful or considered views." But he also wrote that Anthropic had "no choice but to challenge the designation in court."

Legal observers say the company would have a strong case. But litigation against the federal government could complicate the IPO Anthropic was expected to pursue within the next year or so.

Meanwhile, OpenAI had its own cleanup to do. After widespread criticism of the Pentagon agreement, CEO Sam Altman admitted earlier this week: "We shouldn't have rushed to get this out on Friday. The issues are super complex, and demand clear communication." OpenAI now says its "safety stack," contract language, and existing law prevent the government from using its AI for mass domestic surveillance or autonomous weapons. The same week, OpenAI hired Cooley and Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz to prepare for an IPO that could come as soon as this year.

And today? The Department of Defense officially formalized Anthropic's supply-chain risk label. The DOD continues to use Anthropic's AI in Iran, though.

Meanwhile, Both Labs Shipped — and Reported Numbers

Amid the political drama, both companies had product and business updates.

OpenAI topped $25 billion in annualized revenue as of the end of last month. Anthropic is closing the gap, recently passing $19 billion. The race is tightening fast — Anthropic was at $14 billion just weeks ago.

On the product side, Anthropic is rolling out voice mode for Claude Code, letting developers talk to their coding agent instead of typing.

OpenAI, meanwhile, is quietly walking back its commerce ambitions. Just five months ago it unveiled Instant Checkout, promising users could buy things "without ever leaving the chat." Now ChatGPT will redirect shoppers to merchant apps to complete purchases instead. The experience is still smooth — a couple of clicks to reach the merchant storefront — but the shift is significant: OpenAI is positioning ChatGPT as a discovery layer rather than a transaction layer.

Wall Street noticed. Shares of DoorDash, Booking Holdings, and Expedia climbed between 3% and 13% on the news — a bet that ChatGPT driving traffic to existing apps is better for incumbents than ChatGPT replacing them.

SpaceX Eyes the Biggest IPO in History

SpaceX is targeting a valuation above $1.75 trillion for its IPO, according to Bloomberg, with a confidential filing possible as soon as this month. If it goes ahead, it would be the largest public listing ever — dwarfing Saudi Aramco's $1.7 trillion debut in 2019.

The implications go well beyond SpaceX itself. A listing at that scale would unlock massive liquidity for early backers — including Founders Fund, Sequoia, and a16z — generate enormous fees for the banks running the deal, and reshape the entire 2026 IPO pipeline. 

Anduril Raises $4B at $60B — With No Profit in Sight Until 2030

Anduril is raising $4 billion in a round led by Andreessen Horowitz and Thrive Capital, valuing the defense tech company at roughly $60 billion. The company expects to nearly double revenue this year to about $4.3 billion — but its operating loss will also grow, rising nearly 50% to $1.2 billion. Profitability on an adjusted EBITDA basis isn't expected until 2030.

At a ~14x forward revenue multiple, Anduril is being priced like a high-growth software company — except it's building missile systems, drone factories, and autonomous submarines. The bet is that Anduril can become the first venture-backed company to reach the revenue scale of a traditional defense prime — companies like Lockheed Martin ($71B), Raytheon ($65B), and Northrop Grumman ($41B) — while growing at 100%+ year-over-year instead of single digits.

The British Neobanks Are Coming for America

Revolut has applied for a US banking license, hiring ex-Visa exec Cetin Duransoy to lead its American operations. The company has been in the US since 2020, but the country still barely registers in its revenue mix — a banking license would change that by unlocking deposits, lending, and the full product stack that's made Revolut a $45B+ company in Europe.

They're not alone. UK neobank Starling is exploring a US expansion via a local banking license, and Monzo was reported in October to be weighing a fresh US application of its own.

Google Cuts the App Store Tax

Google has settled with Epic Games, dropping its Play Store commission from 30% to 20%, with an additional optional 5% if developers use Google's billing services. 

For years, the 30% "app store tax" has been one of the most reliable rent-extraction mechanisms in tech — and one of the most hated by developers. Apple still holds the line at 30% (15% for small developers), but Google blinking puts real pressure to follow. 

Quick Rounds & Milestones

Cursor doubled its annualized revenue from $1B to $2B in just three months. The AI coding editor is now the fastest-growing developer tool in history.

Reflection AI, the open-source model developer, is in talks to raise at least $2B at a valuation north of $20B.

Ayar Labs, developing co-packaged optics for hyperscale AI infrastructure, raised $500M in Series E at a $3.75B valuation.

Grow Therapy, whose AI-assisted notes tool serves mental health providers, raised $150M in Series D at a $3B valuation.

Decagon, the AI customer support startup, completed its first tender offer at a $4.5B valuation.

Eight Sleep, maker of smart mattresses and AI sleep agents, raised $50M at a $1.5B valuation.

Neura Robotics, building industrial humanoid robots, is in talks to raise ~$1.2B at a ~$4.6B valuation.

Together AI, the GPU cloud provider for AI developers, is in talks to raise ~$1B at a $7.5B pre-money valuation.

Plaid raised additional capital for employee liquidity at an $8B valuation — a 31% markup from its prior round, continuing its climb back from the $13.4B peak in 2021.