For decades, Silicon Valley sold investors a familiar myth: great companies emerged from garages, dorm rooms, and brilliant founders. The government played a supporting role, if any role at all.
But as two of the most anticipated IPOs in history approach, Anthropic and SpaceX exemplify the next generation of tech giants that owe as much to Washington as to venture capital.
Yes, they each operate in very different industries, but Anthropic and SpaceX have become essential partners to the U.S. government. Together, they illustrate a broader shift in the American economy: government demand is once again helping create corporate titans.
The Elon Musk-led satellite and rocket company spent years transforming itself from ambitious startup into a critical contractor for NASA, the Pentagon, and U.S. intelligence agencies.
In 2025, the U.S. Space Force awarded $13.7 billion in launch contracts, with SpaceX receiving the largest share, $5.9 billion for 28 missions.
Beyond launching satellites and astronauts for NASA and the Pentagon, the company operates Starlink, a rapidly expanding satellite internet network that has become increasingly important for military communications, disaster response, and national security operations.
As the government relies more heavily on both SpaceX launches and Starlink connectivity, SpaceX has transformed from a commercial space venture into a strategic partner central to Washington's space and defense plans.
Still, the fast-growing startup is not free from scrutiny.
Analysts view SpaceX's upcoming IPO as highly risky due to its $1.75-$2 trillion valuation, trading at roughly 90-100 times trailing sales, despite a recent $4.9 billion net loss.
Key concerns include staggered insider lockups that allow early sales, a valuation disconnected from fundamentals, and the controversial February 2026 merger with Musk's AI startup, xAI, which adds cash-burning and governance risks.
Major U.S. pension leaders - including New York State Comptrollers Mark Levine, and Thomas DiNapoli, and California Public Employees' Retirement System CEO Marcie Frost - have formally urged the Securities and Exchange Commission to apply heightened scrutiny to the IPO, arguing that stronger regulatory oversight is needed to safeguard workers' retirement savings, Reuters reported.
The officials raised concerns about the extensive authority the board has granted Musk, including outsized voting control, the ability to block efforts to remove him as CEO, and legal protections such as mandatory arbitration requirements that would limit shareholders' ability to bring claims against SpaceX in court.
Anthropic
Anthropic recently overtook OpenAI as the world's most valuable startup after raising $65 billion in Series H, valuing the company at $965 billion, ahead of a confidential IPO filing.
At the same time, the company has become deeply involved with national security.
According to a public statement from CEO Dario Amodei, the company was among the first frontier AI firms to deploy models on classified government networks and at U.S. national laboratories, where its technology is used for intelligence analysis, operational planning, cyber operations and other government functions.
"We were the first frontier AI company to deploy our models in the U.S. government's classified networks," Amodei wrote.
Despite this, Anthropic faces unprecedented government risks tied to its upcoming IPO, primarily stemming from disputes with federal agencies.
Earlier this year, Anthropic reportedly declined Pentagon requests that would have allowed broader use of its technology in areas such as mass surveillance and autonomous weapons. The company already held a military contract worth roughly $200 million at the time of the disagreement.
Anthropic has filed multiple lawsuits seeking to overturn the Department of War's supply chain risk designation, while investors have warned that the active litigation could complicate their Wall Street debut.
'Sovereign AI Capabilities'
Governments around the world are racing to secure what many policymakers call "sovereign AI" capabilities-ensuring that critical public services, defense systems, and intelligence agencies maintain access to cutting-edge artificial intelligence. Researchers have argued that AI infrastructure is becoming intertwined with geopolitical competition and national sovereignty.
In that environment, companies capable of supplying those systems become more than vendors. They become strategic assets. That helps explain why investors may view Anthropic and SpaceX differently from traditional IPO candidates.
Neither company is merely selling products.
SpaceX sells launch capacity, satellite communications, and space infrastructure that governments increasingly rely on. Anthropic sells intelligence infrastructure at a moment when governments are scrambling to integrate AI into everything from cybersecurity to public services.
The result is a new class of technology company whose growth is tied not only to consumers and enterprises but also to national priorities.
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