Tell NY Dispatch: Anthropic Brand(ing) New Day… 

Brand(ing) New Day

The shift in perception around Anthropic (which seems to raise another trillion dollars – what???) has become one of the more interesting stories in AI right now. Over the past year, the company has gone from being seen as the quieter and more academic alternative to OpenAI to becoming one of the most respected players in the space. CNBC recently ranking Anthropic at the top of its Disruptor 50 list felt like the clearest sign yet that this shift is becoming mainstream.

What’s interesting is how much of this comes down to branding and positioning, not just technology. We’ve written before about Anthropic’s strong brand work, whether it was the Super Bowl campaign, the subtle shots between AI companies on Twitter/X, or the way the company consistently leans into what it believes are its strengths: better writing, more human responses, and a calmer, more thoughtful AI experience overall. While OpenAI often dominates the conversation through scale and product launches, Anthropic has quietly built a very different kind of reputation.

But beyond the messaging itself, Anthropic has probably become the clearest example in AI right now of how “taste” can shape perception around a technology company. Almost everything they put into the world feels intentional: the minimalist visual language, the restrained tone, the cinematic launch videos, the writing style, the product demos, even the way executives communicate online. That consistency has helped create the perception that the company is thoughtful, sophisticated, and trustworthy, even among people who may not fully understand how the underlying models compare technically.

What makes this especially interesting is that it mirrors what we’ve seen happen in other technology waves before. At a certain point, the winning companies stop competing only on raw capability and start competing on narrative, design, and emotional perception. Most users cannot meaningfully evaluate benchmark differences between frontier AI models. But they can absolutely feel the difference between a product that feels chaotic versus one that feels intentional. As AI models become increasingly similar to the public, perception starts to matter almost as much as the technology itself. More and more, this feels like a branding battle as much as a product battle.

Fundraising is a Storytelling Exercise Now

The past year made one thing very clear: reporting on a funding round today is rarely just about the amount raised or who invested. The companies that really break through usually combine a much bigger mix of ingredients: timing, narrative, technology, vision, momentum, and some hard-to-explain “wait… there’s something here” factor that unfortunately cannot be fully disclosed under the highly classified conditions of this newsletter.

This month alone, we worked on several very different funding stories at Tell NY, and each one reminded us how different the formula can look behind the scenes.

Mia on Decart’s $300M round: “Beyond the impressive number itself, there’s something very unusual about Decart. Yes, the founders are impressive, and yes, they’ve become larger-than-life figures in the AI world, but there’s also a level of technology there that genuinely makes people stop and stare. Working with Decart sometimes feels less like PR and more like being inside a movie. Mostly I’m just curious who’s going to play me in the biopic.”

Josef on Socket’s $60M round: “What stood out working with Socket was how connected the company was to what’s happening in the world right now: AI coding. When the recent Axios compromise came, Socket identified the attack within minutes and helped customers respond in real time, turning the moment into proof of why the company mattered. Add customers like Anthropic, xAI, Cursor, and Replit, plus Thrive Capital leading the round, and the story quickly became much bigger than just another code security company.”

Ofir on Frame’s $50M round: “Frame was one of those companies where after the first conversation, I closed the computer and felt there was something different. We work with a lot of cybersecurity companies building incredibly advanced technology, but Frame approached the market from a very different angle: focusing on protecting humans through technology. This week, I was sitting with the reporter who covered the company alongside another successful CEO, and he started telling a story about how someone once used a deepfake impersonation of him in an attempt to damage the company. Her immediate reaction was: “Wait, that sounds exactly like a Frame problem.’’ Which makes me believe we’re doing our job right!”

Hiring for Taste

(or: yes, apparently “having taste” is now a hiring qualification)

One of the biggest lessons from scaling the firm over the past two years: great comms people are defined less by generic resumes and more by a few core traits:

• Strong storytelling instincts and sharp writing
• Fast learners who adapt quickly to how fast media evolves
• People who care deeply about execution, no task too small
• And most importantly, good energy and team culture. Also being funny (non negotiable)

All of this to say that we’re hiring – and if that sounds like you (or someone you know), we’d love to connect.

Email us at careers@tellny.com