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Quick answer: On the Oct. 28, 2026 episode of The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart, tech critic Ed Zitron argued that Anthropic's growth projections don't add up. Zitron claimed the company's revenue was "probably in the region of $30 to $50 billion a year, max," while its valuation depends on reaching $200 billion a year, then quipped, "this is the worst episode of Shark Tank ever." Those are Zitron's claims. Anthropic's own S-1 filing reports $16.29 billion in revenue for the first half of 2026. Real-name fact: Jon Stewart was born Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz.
Source episode: "Bursting the AI Bubble with Ed Zitron," The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart, watch the full episode.
Jon Stewart's real name
Jon Stewart was born Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz on Nov. 28, 1962, in New York City (Biography.com; New Jersey Hall of Fame). He performed as Jon Stewart and filed a petition in 2001 to make the name change official. Asked by 60 Minutes why he dropped Leibowitz, he joked that it "sounded too Hollywood" (IMDb trivia).
Who is Ed Zitron?
Ed Zitron writes the "Where's Your Ed At" newsletter and hosts the "Better Offline" podcast, and the episode description also lists EZ Primary Research. He is a well-known skeptic of the AI industry's finances (episode page).
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What Ed Zitron claimed
According to the episode transcript, Zitron made these claims. They are his figures, not verified facts:
- Anthropic has "$430 billion worth of non-cancellable commitments with Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and Broadcom," which he described as deals the company can't back out of.
- In his view, those commitments will cost Anthropic $75 billion to $100 billion a year within the next year or two.
- "Their entire valuation comes down to them making $200 billion a year in revenue in two years."
- Asked what its revenue is now, he said: "Probably in the region of $30 to $50 billion a year, max. We don't have the fourth quarter. Oh, this is the worst episode of Shark Tank ever."
- Citing the payments company Ramp, he said 80% of OpenAI's and Anthropic's revenue comes from 1% of their customers.
Stewart mostly listens and asks follow-up questions in this part of the conversation (transcript).
What Anthropic's filing reports
Anthropic filed its S-1 with the SEC on Oct. 26, 2026, and plans to list on Nasdaq under the ticker "ANT." According to the filing and coverage of it:
- Revenue was $16.29 billion for the six months ended June 30, 2026, up from $1.16 billion a year earlier. Full-year 2025 revenue was $4.59 billion (CNBC; SEC filing).
- It had an operating loss of $693 million for the half. Its net loss was $80.7 billion, which TechCrunch reports was largely driven by noncash accounting adjustments tied to convertible debt (TechCrunch).
- The company warns that it "may not achieve or sustain profitability in the future" (SEC filing).
Readers can weigh Zitron's view against the filing. Supporters of the company point to its fast revenue growth. Critics like Zitron focus on its costs and commitments.
FAQ
What is Jon Stewart's real name? Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz. He filed in 2001 to make the name Stewart official.
Who said "the worst episode of Shark Tank ever"? Ed Zitron, talking about Anthropic's projections on The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart, Oct. 28, 2026.
What revenue did Anthropic actually report? $16.29 billion for the first half of 2026, according to its S-1 filing.
Is the $430 billion commitments figure confirmed? It is Zitron's claim on the show. We have not independently confirmed it.