If your revenue doubles every month, then in the first month where you make $2.5B, your total lifetime revenue has been $5B ($2.5B this month, $1.25B the month before, etc. is a simple geometric series). But your current revenue run rate for the next year will be $2.5B x 12 = $30B.
They're not quite growing that fast, but there's nothing inherently inconsistent between these claims... as long as the growth curve is crazy.
The reality is
1) It's in their interest to distort numbers and frame things that make them look good - e.g. using 'run-rate' 2) The numbers are not audited and we have no idea re. the manner in which they are recognising revenue - this can affect the true compounding rate of growth in revenues
The numbers are certainly audited by their investors. Anthropic isn't foreign to PR talk, but investors know what to look for in their book. They aren't stupid unlike how they are viewed on HN.
There are more investment money than Anthropic need. They can pick and choose.
"The numbers are certainly audited by their investors."
Hahaha.
Mate nobody cares about that nor trusts it. Everyone is waiting in anticipation for the S-1 filing.
I do, and I do trust the numbers. I doubt Anthropic is pursuing fraud given that they already don't have enough compute to serve demand. What is the point of lying to the public, investors and risk going to jail?
Money? Bankman-Fried wasn't the only one.