Artificial intelligence start-up Anthropic closed a new funding round that values it at $61.5 billion. The company's valuation soared from $16 billion a year ago, with Lightspeed Venture Partners leading the new $3.5 billion investment. Anthropic, OpenAI, and Elon Musk's xAI signal robust growth and investor confidence in the A.I. sector despite earlier cooling. A.I. technologies continue to evolve, promising significant benefits and posing risks.