AI fanaticism ushered in an open market test: Anthropic (ANT.US)'s IPO sprint to raise US$64.4 billion, with a valuation of up to US$1.02 trillion

The Zhitong Finance App learned that according to the latest prospectus disclosed by Anthropic (ANT.US) on Tuesday, the IPO plans to raise up to 64.4 billion US dollars. This landmark listing will test the valuation, growth prospects, and risks of cutting-edge artificial intelligence companies on the open market for the first time. Anthropic plans to issue shares in an indicative price range of $70 to $78 per share. Based on the maximum issue price, the company's highest valuation was around $1.02 trillion. At the same time, Anthropic will also raise $26 billion through a separate private placement, bringing the total financing scale of this IPO and related private placement to a maximum of US$90.4 billion.

This valuation also reflects changes in market expectations. Previously, some potential investors had discussed a valuation of about $1.5 trillion, but believed that this level was already at the high end of expectations. The maximum valuation corresponding to the current issue price range is about one-third lower than the level previously discussed, highlighting investors' cautious attitude towards AI companies' valuations and return on capital expenditure.

Strategic investors invested an additional $26 billion, with a total financing of up to US$90.4 billion

According to the prospectus, Anthropic plans to issue 825 million shares in this IPO, of which the company itself will issue about 801 million shares, and existing shareholders will sell about 23.65 million shares. Based on the issue price range of 70 to 78 US dollars per share, this IPO can raise up to about 64.4 billion US dollars.

Additionally, Anthropic will raise $26 billion from strategic investors including Google (GOOGL.US), Nvidia (NVDA.US), and AMD (AMD.US) through a separate private placement. Other participants include Broadcom (AVGO.US), Micron (MU.US), Microsoft (MSFT.US), and TSM.US.

The two types of financing can reach a total of up to US$90.4 billion. The scale is expected to exceed the total amount of financing of about US$86.2 billion after the SpaceX IPO was included in the Green Shoe option, making it one of the most high-profile large-scale listing transactions in the global capital market.

According to reports, some details of the blockbuster deal were briefly sent to the investment bank on Monday evening and then withdrawn. The latest prospectus clarifies the number of shares to be issued and the indicative price range of 70 to 78 US dollars.

The AI boom ushered in a “settlement moment”, and the trillion-dollar valuation is being tested

Anthropic's current listing comes at a time when the AI investment boom is being re-examined. As technology companies continue to expand investment in data centers, chips, and energy infrastructure, investors are beginning to question whether the revenue growth brought about by AI can support huge capital expenses, and whether related investments can obtain sufficient returns in an environment of high interest rates and rising financing costs.

Market concerns about the sustainability of the AI investment cycle are also rising, and there are questions surrounding revolving financing arrangements, the risk of infrastructure overcapacity, and the speed at which companies can turn AI investments into actual revenue.

The Nasdaq index, which mainly focuses on technology stocks, recorded its biggest one-day decline in 19 months last Thursday, and the market capitalization shrunk sharply. Earlier, the Democratic Party made progress in the US midterm elections, and the market feared that the AI industry might face stricter policy scrutiny, especially data center construction and related infrastructure approvals. Stricter regulations and potential policy barriers may increase the difficulty and cost of expanding AI infrastructure.

However, Anthropic's business growth is still strong, and the popularity of the Claude model in corporate and professional work scenarios continues to drive demand. In its prospectus, the company described the broad prospects of AI driving economic and productivity changes, while also warning that advanced AI technology may pose serious security risks, highlighting that this emerging industry still faces profound uncertainty in addition to huge business opportunities.

Previously, some potential investors had discussed Anthropic's valuation of about $1.5 trillion, but some investors believed that this level was already at the high end of expectations. Today, the highest valuation corresponding to the latest release price range is about 1.02 trillion US dollars, indicating that the market is cautious about pricing this AI company. However, this comparison reflects the valuation expectations previously discussed in the market, not the IPO pricing previously officially announced by Anthropic.

Revenue grew rapidly but the growth rate slowed, and price competition and profit pressure surfaced

Financial performance will be an important basis for investors to evaluate Anthropic's valuation.

According to the prospectus, Anthropic's third-quarter revenue increased 47% month-on-month to US$16.96 billion, continuing the rapid growth trend, but the growth rate slowed significantly from 144% in the second quarter. The company attributed revenue growth to the rapid adoption of the Claude model and the launch of specialized products for industries such as healthcare, financial services, and legal services.

Earnings performance presents a more complicated picture. Anthropic's net loss for the third quarter was narrower than for the second quarter, but recorded an operating loss of US$567 million during the same period, compared with an operating profit of US$974 million in the second quarter. The company explained that operating losses in the third quarter were mainly affected by short-term computing power expenses of 5 billion US dollars and non-cash expenses of the 2 billion US dollar donation matching plan.

Meanwhile, Anthropic's adjusted operating profit for the third quarter reached $2.5 billion, but the adjusted operating margin fell to 15% from 19% in the second quarter. This shows that while revenue is expanding rapidly, the company still needs to deal with phased pressure on profit margins caused by increased computing power investment.

Price competition is also beginning to be a factor affecting income growth. Anthropic lowered the prices of some models and offered contract discounts to some customers. Related measures reduced revenue growth by about $600 million in the third quarter. As competitors such as OpenAI launch lower cost models, and Chinese developers continue to introduce low-cost open weighting models, competition among AI companies is gradually expanding from model capability to price and commercialization efficiency.

Additionally, Anthropic listed a range of business and technical risks in the prospectus, warning that competitors may gain an advantage by developing models faster, and that AI capabilities may advance faster than the company can implement appropriate security measures. Recently, security concerns that AI agents may escape the sandbox environment and invade enterprise systems have continued to heat up, and the market is also concerned about whether increasingly capable AI tools can be used by malicious actors to attack protected networks.

Nearly 900 billion US dollars of computing power is promised, and long-term capital needs cannot be ignored

Anthropic's rapid growth has been accompanied by huge infrastructure investments. According to the latest prospectus, as of September 30, 2026 and thereafter, the total procurement commitments and lease agreements the company has signed is approximately US$895.4 billion, the vast majority of which relate to computing power and infrastructure.

This commitment doesn't mean Anthropic will need to pay almost $900 billion immediately. According to the prospectus, about US$447.5 billion is expected to occur before the end of 2030, and most of the rest is expected to occur between 2031 and 2045; related commitments expiring within the next 12 months are approximately US$69.8 billion.

Although related expenses are distributed over many years, their scale still highlights Anthropic's huge demand for future computing power resources. It also means that the company must continue to expand revenue, improve the efficiency of computing power use, and keep financing channels open in order to fulfill relevant contractual obligations.

The prospectus also states that some computing power and infrastructure partners rely on third-party financing or credit support to purchase chips and build production capacity. If relevant financing is unavailable or costs rise, the contracted computing power supply may be delayed, repriced, reduced, or even undelivered.

At the same time, Anthropic also needs to face risks such as uncertain forecasting of computing power demand and mismatch between infrastructure commissioning schedule and customer needs. If future computing power investments are not converted into revenue in a timely manner, or if revenue growth is insufficient to cover relevant payment obligations, the company's cash flow and financial position may be affected.

Listing background: After SpaceX, AI unicorns were tested in the open market

This listing comes on the heels of Elon Musk's major IPO of SpaceX. SpaceX raised $75 billion in June, making it the world's largest IPO. After including additional shares purchased by underwriters through Green Shoe Options, the total amount raised was approximately US$86.2 billion. Anthropic's current IPO and private placement can raise a total of up to US$90.4 billion, and the scale is expected to further set a new record.

Anthropic is competing with competitor OpenAI for AI market share. The company is led by CEO Dario Amodei (Dario Amodei) and was founded in 2021 by a group of researchers who left OpenAI due to differences in governance and AI security. Notable investors include Altimeter Capital, Dragoneer, Greenoaks, and Sequoia Capital.

Unlike many traditional tech companies, Anthropic makes AI safe and responsible development an important part of corporate governance. The company adopted a public service enterprise (PBC) structure and established a long-term benefit trust (Long-Term Benefit Trust), which gives it the power to select and remove most board members to ensure that the company balances AI safety and long-term public interest while pursuing commercial interests.

However, how to balance public welfare missions with commercial returns will also be an issue that investors will continue to pay attention to after listing. Anthropic must prove that the revenue growth brought about by AI products such as Claude can cover ever-expanding computing power, R&D, and infrastructure costs, and ultimately translate into sustainable profitability.

After the completion of the IPO, Anthropic shares are expected to be traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the ticker symbol “ANT.” Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley lead this underwriting consortium.