Anthropic IPO

Anthropic Makes It Official

Anthropic has published its prospectus ahead of its highly anticipated stock-market debut. Prospectus is a key document that investors scrutinize before an initial public offering (IPO). They had already gotten a sneak peek: Reuters leaked an earlier version of the filing in September.

This is still a big moment for Anthropic and the whole AI industry. It confirms that the company is not getting cold feet and still aims to push this listing through, despite stormy markets and multiple delayed or cancelled IPOs linked to data centers.

The Claude-maker plans to trade on Nasdaq under the ticker ANT, with Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley as the banks leading the offering. Two key numbers are still blank: the targeted valuation and the money to be raised.

Growing at Full Throttle

Anthropic's prospectus pulled back the curtain on the economics of the AI boom.

• Revenue surged nearly 14-fold to $16.3B in the first half of 2026
• Net loss was $80.7B in the same period
• Operating loss was $693M
• About $9B was spent on computing infrastructure
• It expects to have spent over $800B in that category by 2045, roughly the GDP of Argentina or Belgium

While the losses sound staggering, this was largely due to the ballooning value of the company. As the fair value of bonds that are convertible into the company's shares rises, net losses widen.

Buy the Stock, Fear the Robot

Most IPO filings warn investors about competition, regulation, or recessions. Anthropic is more dramatic: its technology could pose "existential risks to humanity."

Anthropic devotes almost a third of its IPO prospectus to risks. The filing warns that increasingly advanced AI systems could manipulate information, resist shutdown, and conceal intentions. They could be used to build bioweapons and conduct cyberattacks, or be abused by authoritarian rulers to create “high-tech surveillance states.”

Finally, Anthropic warns of potential economic disruption as the AI replaces workers. But the company believes that AI will ultimately increase economic growth, bring cures to diseases, and solve generational problems.

Next Comes the Hard Sell

Anthropic was valued at $965 billion in May’s funding round. Existing investors expect it to seek roughly $1.5 trillion to $1.75 trillion in its IPO. That is enormous, but well below the $2 trillion-plus some backers expected as recently as September. Reportedly, Anthropic is trying to raise about $100 billion, which would still make it the largest offering to date.

Investors are questioning whether debt-fueled AI spending will earn sufficient returns. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 index has fallen more than 7% from its October 6 record.

The window is tight. Anthropic is aiming to list after the November 3 US midterms but before Thanksgiving on November 26. The IPO is a test of how much investors are willing to pay for the AI boom. If it fails, it’s unlikely that ChatGPT developer OpenAI will dare to test the markets any time soon.