Loading the player… Anthropic leaped to [a $47 billion revenue run rate by May,](https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/08/these-ai-startups-are-growing-revenue-at-faster-and-faster-rates/) compared to $9 billion in 2025. It’s the kind of growth that Menlo Ventures’ [Matt Murphy](https://menlovc.com/team/matt-murphy/) says he’s never seen in 25 years of investing, not in the internet wave, not in mobile, not in the first cloud boom. Menlo led Anthropic’s $500M Series D, and Murphy has had a front-row seat as the company went from a pre-revenue, pre-launch bet to one of the most valuable startups out there. On this episode of TechCrunch’s [Equity](https://techcrunch.com/podcasts/equity/) podcast, Julie Bort talks with Murphy about backing Anthropic before anyone else would, why a great model was never the point, and what’s driving the fastest-growing startups he’s ever seen. Subscribe to Equity on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@TechCrunch),[ Apple Podcasts](https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id1215439780),[ Overcast](https://overcast.fm/itunes1215439780/equity),[ Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/show/5IEYLip3eDppcOmy5DmphC?si=rZDFHv2sQUul_g94iCRgpQ) and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on[ X](https://twitter.com/EquityPod) and[ Threads](https://www.threads.net/@equitypod), at @EquityPod.