Anthropic is moving ahead with an initial public offering (IPO), targeting a company valuation of up to $1.4 trillion (about 1,882 trillion won). This is below the $2 trillion initially discussed in the market, and amid the recent decline in tech stocks and growing doubts about the profitability of AI investments, the offering is expected to serve as a test of Wall Street’s appetite for AI investment.
Reuters reported on the 10th (local time) that Anthropic had proposed an indicative offering price of $70–78 per share and begun recruiting investors. The specific offering terms were later confirmed in the amended registration statement Anthropic filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Anthropic plans to offer a total of 825 million shares, raising up to $64.4 billion (about 87 trillion won). At the upper end of the indicative offering price range, $78, the company’s valuation reaches $1.4 trillion. This is on a fully diluted basis, including stock options, restricted stock units (RSUs), and other instruments; excluding them, the valuation based on shares outstanding is $1.02 trillion.
The valuation target exceeds the $965 billion at which Anthropic was valued when it raised capital as a private company in May, but falls short of the maximum $2 trillion previously anticipated in the market. It drew attention that the indicative offering price was set at a time when AI-related tech stocks have recently been weak and investors’ doubts have grown over whether the enormous sums being invested in data centers and semiconductors will translate into actual profits.
Adjustments were also made while finalizing the offering terms. On the late 9th, Anthropic sent preliminary offering terms to investment banks for raising up to $69.3 billion, only to withdraw them. The official registration statement subsequently included a lower indicative offering price and reduced fundraising size.
Separately from the IPO, Anthropic is raising $26 billion in private investment from major technology companies such as Google, Nvidia, and AMD. Combined, the total amount of capital raised through the IPO and the separate private investment could reach as much as $90.4 billion.
According to the Financial Times (FT) and other outlets, the seven co-founders also plan to sell shares worth $250 million each, or $1.75 billion in total, in the IPO. Of the total shares being offered, 23.65 million will be sold by existing shareholders, and the proceeds will not go to Anthropic.
Anthropic is scheduled to begin trading on Nasdaq on the 19th under the ticker symbol “ANT.” Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley will serve as the lead underwriters.
Meanwhile, revenue is growing rapidly. According to the registration statement, Anthropic’s annualized revenue stood at $81 billion as of late October, up $10 billion from late September.
Goldman Sachs forecasts that Anthropic’s annual revenue will rise from $4.6 billion last year to $52 billion this year and $136 billion in 2027, reaching $685 billion by 2030. It expects revenue from enterprise customers alone to reach $586 billion in 2030.
However, securing profitability is expected to take time. Goldman Sachs expects Anthropic’s operating loss to peak at $40.4 billion in 2027, with operating profit turning positive only in 2029.Free cash flow, which reflects the actual ability to generate cash, is expected to turn negative on an annual basis only in 2030.
Reporter Lim Dae-jun ydj@aitimes.com
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