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Sunday's big rivalry won't be Seattle versus New England. It'll be Anthropic against OpenAI, via Super Bowl ads.
The two largest AI startups duking it out during America's most-watched cultural event of the year signals a new phase in the battle for dominance: the fight for mindshare and legitimacy as both prepare for massive IPOs.
"This is the Wild West, and everyone's rushing in like it's a gold rush or land grab, trying to convince people to go to their platform," said Kim Whitler, a professor at University of Virginia's Darden School of Business whose research focuses on analyzing what makes for an effective Super Bowl ad. "This is not about awareness at all; everyone knows Grok, Perplexity, Gemini, ChatGPT, Claude. This is about trying to establish preference."
I’m Jacob Robbins, and this is the Weekend Pitch. You can reach me at jacob.robbins@pitchbook.com or on X @JacobERobbins.
Anthropic's four ads take aim at OpenAI's decision to start advertising inside ChatGPT. Words like "deception" and "treachery" flash across the screen as various conversations unfold between people and chatbots, embodied by humans. Shortly after beginning to answer the humans' questions, the chatbots noticeably shift into sales pitches, like suggesting height-boosting sneakers for someone interested in fitness, or a cougar dating site to a son looking to improve communication with his mom.
"Ads are coming to AI. But not to Claude," each clip announces at the end.
VC-backed companies have a long history of trying to establish themselves during the Super Bowl. The Farmer's Dog, which sells subscriptions to boutique dog food, tugged on heartstrings in 2023 when it suggested its food could extend the life of your furry companion. And in 2021, Robinhood tried to keep riding the meme-stock craze with its "we're all investors" ad.
"It's not just about 'hey, we exist,' but rather about establishing what you stand for during this big game where everyone is watching," Whitler said. "The current market, it's all so in flux. If you look at today's current market share, will it be exactly the same in three years? Highly unlikely." |
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With the merger of SpaceX and xAI, Elon Musk wants to build data centers in space in order to support the growing demands of AI infrastructure. But SpaceX isn't the only startup looking to build data center technology in space. From 2024 to 2025, deal value in space-tech increased by 65%. How much was invested in space-tech startups in 2025?
A) $3.1 billion
B) $6.7 billion
C) $11.1 billion
D) $15.7 billion
Find your answer at the bottom of The Weekend Pitch! |
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A selection from our most-read articles of the past few days.
- Private equity managers have had their hopes for a fundraising revival dashed for several years now. In fact, things have only gotten worse. Behind the headline numbers is a shift in LP sentiment that shows no sign of reversing. Full story
- SpaceX joined with xAI last week, creating a combined company valued at $1.25 trillion while prepping for what could be the largest IPO in Silicon Valley history. Our map outlines the universe of investors in this Elon Musk-onomy. See the interactive map
- KKR is making an aggressive push into sports and secondaries investing with the $1.4 billion acquisition of Arctos Partners, the sports-focused investment firm that has backed Liverpool FC and Paris Saint-Germain. Read more
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“Geothermal is sort of that bipartisan fuel source, where you can ‘drill, baby, drill,’ but you’re going down to get heat to spin a turbine with steam. I think without data centers, nuclear would not be as hot. I think that [geothermal] would be back, no matter what.”
—Benjamin Baker, an investor at energy transition firm Greenbacker Capital Management, speaking about geothermal energy as a potential energy source for AI data centers. Read more from PitchBook's Rosie Bradbury about geothermal and why some proponents say the energy source is getting overlooked by VCs here. |
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Keep an eye out for these insights and research reports coming out this week:
- H2 2025 Foodtech VC Trends
- Analyst Note: APAC AI (Part 2)
- Q4 2025 Defense Tech VC Trends
- Q4 2025 AI VC Trends
- 2025 Annual US VC Valuations and Returns Report
- Analyst Note: Sizing the US Unicorn Herd
- Q4 2025 Healthcare Services Report
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Answer: C
Space-tech deal value grew from $6.7 billion in 2024 to $11.1 billion in 2025, a 65% increase. Read more about data centers in space here. |
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This edition of The Weekend Pitch was written by Leah Hodgson and Nadine Manske. It was edited by Andrew Woodman and Michael Bruning.
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