Artificial intelligence (AI) giant Anthropic saw its revenue surge by 45% to $16.8bn (£12.7bn) in the three months to the end of September, the BBC understands.

The figures were reportedly revealed by the Claude-developer as it briefed prospective investors on Wednesday at its headquarters in San Francisco as it lays the groundwork for what is expected to be a blockbuster share sale by the end of the year.

It comes as some tech stocks, including firms that make the chips and other hardware that power data centres, have come under pressure over concerns about the large amounts of money being spent on AI infrastructure.

An Anthropic spokesperson declined to comment.

Anthropic's revenue has risen in successive quarters this year, from $4.7bn in the first three months to $11.6bn the following period.

Its revenue figures, along with those of rival OpenAI, offer an important gauge of the AI industry's growth and ability to finance the infrastructure needed to develop the technology.

The ChatGPT-developer is also eyeing a bumper stock market listing, which is expected to value the firm at more than $1tn.

But OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman said in September that his company will not go public this year as it addresses concerns about the technology's safety.