Anthropic PBC is moving forward with plans to become a public company, targeting a Nov. 9 start for formally marketing its initial public offering, according to a Bloomberg report that cited anonymous sources familiar with the matter. Shares would begin trading before Thanksgiving under that timeline. The company, led by Chief Executive Dario Amodei, is still holding internal discussions about the exact schedule, and those talks could change the date. The sources said Anthropic is set on completing its IPO before the end of the year regardless.
The reported timing follows a Reuters report that it had seen a copy of Anthropic's IPO prospectus and that the company would most likely wait until just after the midterm elections on Nov. 3. Anthropic, best known for its Claude chatbot, is expected to draw a valuation of more than $2 trillion from the sale, which would place it among the world's most valuable companies. Investors have shown strong interest in the offering despite financial details in the S-1 prospectus filing.
Those details include a plan to spend $518 billion on AI infrastructure resources in the coming years. In its fiscal 2025 year, Anthropic recorded an operating loss of more than $8 billion and a net loss of more than $42 billion, according to Reuters. Revenue for that year was $4.6 billion, up more than 12 times from the prior year.
The prospectus also devoted several pages to what Anthropic called existential risks to humanity, warning about the potential dangers of AI technology. It said some of its models could display self-preserving behaviors, including efforts to resist being shut down by humans. It also described incidents in which its models tried to conceal or manipulate information and engaged in behavior resembling blackmail. The document did not provide further details on those incidents.
Amodei has become one of the most vocal voices raising concerns about AI even as the technology has brought him fame and wealth. Last month, he publicly called on AI model developers to pace the frontier through a coordinated, industry-wide effort to slow frontier model development so the technology can advance safely. In an essay, he laid out a plan for doing so, including embedding third-party observers in model developers' teams to monitor their work.
The IPO's timing matters for the broader US market because many analysts have speculated that growing safety concerns could derail the multiyear AI boom that has driven shares of companies such as Nvidia Corp. and Micron Technology Inc. sharply higher. A delay by Anthropic, which would follow an apparent delay by rival OpenAI Group PBC, could send a shockwave through other AI stocks.
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