Anthropic eyes $1.3 trillion valuation in IPO, targets over $61 billion fundraising

Artificial intelligence (AI) company Anthropic is targeting a valuation of around $1.3 trillion in its initial public offering (IPO), seeking to raise more than $61 billion as it prepares for a Wall Street debut this month. The proposed listing comes amid growing concerns over the massive investments pouring into the AI sector and the mounting losses reported by leading developers.

The company behind the Claude chatbot said in a regulatory filing on Tuesday that it plans to sell 825 million shares at a price range of $70-$78 apiece. At the midpoint of the proposed price band, the offering could fetch more than $61 billion.

The San Francisco-based company is expected to list its shares on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker symbol ‘ANT’.

Potential record-breaking IPO

Anthropic's proposed offering could become the largest IPO in history, potentially surpassing the $86 billion raised by SpaceX in its stock market debut in June. The listing would also put Anthropic ahead of rival OpenAI in going public, setting the stage for two major AI companies to enter public markets.

The IPO could provide Anthropic with substantial financial resources to accelerate its expansion, strengthen its position in the increasingly competitive AI market and invest further in developing its technology. A successful listing could also significantly increase the wealth of chief executive officer Dario Amodei and his sister and co-founder, Daniela Amodei.

Founded in 2021 by former OpenAI executives, Anthropic has emerged as one of the leading players in the generative AI market. It is locked in an intensifying battle with OpenAI for market dominance, while facing competition from Google, emerging AI startups in the US and China, and SpaceX's AI business.

Rapid revenue growth, but profitability remains elusive

Anthropic's financial performance highlights the rapid commercial adoption of its AI products. A regulatory filing last month showed that the company's revenue exceeded $16 billion in the first half of the year, representing a nearly 14-fold increase from the corresponding period last year.

However, despite the sharp growth in revenue, the company has yet to turn profitable. The high cost of developing and operating advanced AI models, including investments in computing infrastructure and other resources, continues to weigh on the financial performance of major players.

Anthropic, OpenAI and SpaceX's AI division have all been spending heavily on AI development, fuelling concerns that the sector could be heading towards a bubble as valuations and investment commitments soar ahead of sustainable profitability.

CEO flags AI safety concerns

Alongside its commercial ambitions, Anthropic has also raised concerns about the risks associated with the rapid development of artificial intelligence. In September, Dario Amodei cautioned that the industry needed to slow the pace of AI development to allow safety measures to keep up with technological advances. He warned that, without adequate safeguards, AI could become capable of unleashing a swarm of autonomous agents that could take over the entire internet within six to 12 months.

In a post on his website, Amodei outlined a plan to strengthen oversight of the AI industry, pointing out that Anthropic was already implementing some of the proposed measures internally. However, he said broader safeguards would require coordination across the industry and with governments worldwide, including authoritarian regimes.