OpenAI Stock vs. Anthropic Stock: Which Nvidia-Backed AI Start-up Would Be the Best IPO Stock to Buy in 2026? | The Motley Fool

Nvidia (NVDA +1.53%) chips and systems are the foundation of the artificial intelligence (AI) boom. Its graphics processing units (GPUs) account for more than 80% of AI accelerator sales, and its full-stack strategy — meaning it combines its GPUs with adjacent data center hardware and software tools — gives the company a durable competitive advantage.

At present, owning shares of Nvidia is one way (albeit an indirect method) for investors to get exposure to OpenAI and Anthropic. Both AI start-ups work closely with the chipmaker.

• In September, OpenAI announced plans to deploy at least 10 gigawatts of AI data centers with Nvidia systems. Nvidia also said it would invest $100 billion in the AI start-up.
• In November, Anthropic announced plans to purchase $30 billion of computing capacity from Microsoft Azure (running Nvidia AI systems) and to contract additional capacity up to 1 gigawatt. Nvidia also said it would invest $10 billion in the AI start-up.

However, OpenAI and Anthropic could hold initial public offerings (IPOs) as early as this year, which means investors may soon get direct exposure. Here is why I think OpenAI is the more attractive potential IPO stock based on the latest valuations.

1. OpenAI

OpenAI was founded by 11 people (including CEO Sam Altman) in 2015. The company was initially a nonprofit dedicated to artificial intelligence (AI) research, but it…