Anthropic Reportedly to Launch IPO as Early as Mid-November, Valuation May Reach $2 Trillion, Plans to List on U.S. Stocks Before Thanksgiving

According to people familiar with the matter, AI company Anthropic is seeking to launch an initial public offering (IPO) as early as mid-November and is aiming to officially list on the U.S. stock market before the Thanksgiving holiday on November 26. Despite rising AI safety controversies recently and competitor OpenAI postponing its listing plans, Anthropic is still advancing IPO preparations. Some potential investors believe the company's reasonable valuation could reach $1.8 trillion to $2 trillion. People familiar with the matter said Anthropic, which owns the Claude series of AI models, could launch the formal IPO roadshow as early as the week of November 9, creating conditions for trading to begin before Thanksgiving. Because trading activity in U.S. capital markets typically slows noticeably around Thanksgiving, the company hopes to complete its listing before the holiday. Anthropic had previously delayed its original listing arrangements, but people familiar with the matter said the company still expects to complete the listing by the end of this year at the latest. However, discussions are still ongoing, and the specific timetable may continue to be adjusted. Accelerating Listing Plans, Meeting with Potential Investors Planned for October 14 Anthropic's listing preparations are gradually moving forward. According to people familiar with the matter, the company plans to hold a meeting with potential investors on October 14 at its San Francisco headquarters to prepare for the upcoming IPO. It was previously reported that Anthropic originally planned to publicly submit its IPO application documents after the summer, but the listing process was subsequently delayed. Under the timetable currently under discussion, the company may launch its formal roadshow in the week of November 9 and seek to complete the stock listing before Thanksgiving on November 26. However, people familiar with the matter stressed that the arrangements have not yet been finalized and the specific listing date may still change. If Anthropic can proceed with its IPO according to the current plan, it would mean the company has chosen to accelerate its entry into public capital markets even as several companies in the recent new-issue market have postponed listings. Valuation Could Reach as High as $2 Trillion, IPO Size May Rival SpaceX Although the AI industry has recently faced challenges such as safety controversies and intensifying competition, Anthropic's potential investors still appear to have high expectations for its long-term prospects. Some people familiar with the matter said some potential investors believe Anthropic's reasonable valuation could be between $1.8 trillion and $2 trillion. It was previously reported that Anthropic expects the fundraising scale of this IPO to reach or exceed SpaceX's (SPCX.US) record-breaking listing size. If the relevant valuation expectations are ultimately recognized by the market, Anthropic will rank among the world's most valuable listed technology companies. However, the valuation range disclosed so far mainly comes from the judgment of some potential investors and does not mean that Anthropic has determined its IPO issue price or final valuation. The actual listing valuation will still depend on market conditions, investor demand, and offering arrangements. 2025 Revenue Grows Sharply, but Net Loss Nears $42 Billion Anthropic's rapidly expanding business scale is one of the important factors supporting its high valuation expectations. However, the company's continuously widening losses may also become a key issue for investors during the IPO process. According to previously disclosed financial documents, Anthropic generated about $4.6 billion in revenue in 2025, a sharp increase from $386 million in 2024. At the same time, the company's net loss in 2025 was close to $42 billion, about five times its 2024 net loss of $8.3 billion. It is worth noting, however, that Anthropic's huge net loss did not entirely come from day-to-day operating expenses. Relevant documents show that in 2025, losses from changes in the fair value of the company's liabilities exceeded $34 billion, accounting for the vast majority of the full-year net loss. From an operating perspective, Anthropic's operating loss during the same period exceeded $8 billion, reflecting that the company still bears relatively high costs in model research and development, computing infrastructure, and business expansion. This means that although Anthropic's revenue is growing rapidly, its business model still faces challenges in achieving stable profitability. For potential IPO investors, how to assess the relationship between rapidly growing revenue and persistently high investment will be an important factor in judging the company's valuation. OpenAI Competitive Pressure Returns, AI Safety Controversies Add Listing Uncertainty In addition to financial performance, Anthropic also faces pressure from competitors. Since the beginning of this year, Anthropic's influence in the frontier AI model market has continued to rise, but OpenAI's sales growth momentum has recently strengthened, further intensifying competition between the two sides. At the same time, a series of widely followed AI agent cyberattack incidents have triggered public concern about the safety of advanced AI systems and increased market uncertainty about the listing prospects of related companies. Anthropic CEO Amodei recently published an article on his personal website arguing for slowing the pace of development of frontier AI models in order to more fully address potential safety risks. Its main competitor OpenAI has already postponed its IPO plans. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said that considering current AI safety issues, it would not be wise to push ahead with a listing at this time. Unlike OpenAI's choice to pause its listing, Anthropic is still pushing forward with its IPO process, showing the two companies' different choices in capital market arrangements. However, whether AI safety issues will affect Anthropic's investor demand, valuation level, and final listing timing remains to be seen. U.S. IPO Market Performance Diverges, Multiple Companies Delay Listings As Anthropic prepares for its listing, the U.S. IPO market is facing certain pressure. Recently, multiple companies have postponed listing plans due to valuation disagreements or changes in the market environment. Among them, smart ring maker Oura became the third company in several weeks to formally postpone its listing hours before its originally scheduled initial share sale. Previously, some potential investors expressed doubts about its fully diluted valuation target of about $15 billion. At the same time, the overall performance of new stocks listed this year has also been relatively weak. According to data, excluding SpaceX and SK Hynix's record-breaking listing transactions, the weighted average return of more than 100 newly listed stocks this year was negative 4%. By comparison, the S&P 500 has risen about 12% year to date, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 has risen about 20%. This performance gap reflects that although large U.S. technology stocks have generally performed strongly, newly listed companies may not necessarily receive the same degree of market enthusiasm, and investors remain relatively cautious about IPO valuations and profit prospects. Against this backdrop, whether Anthropic can attract sufficient investor demand through its rapidly growing AI business and gain market recognition for its high valuation will become an important focus in its IPO process.