Anthropic, the AI company behind Claude, is reportedly exploring an IPO next year, according to the Financial Times.
If it does go ahead, many have speculated that it could be one of the biggest tech IPOs of all time.
So, what’s going to happen?
Who Are Anthropic?
Anthropic is an AI company founded back in 2021 by former OpenAI employees. The company has branded itself as a ‘safety-led AI research lab’ and is best known for Claude, it’s chatbot which promises to be ‘safer’ to interact with than other AIs.
Since it was founded, Anthropic has quickly become a leader in the AI race.
With more than 300,000 customers according to Reuters, as well as revenue in the 10s of billions, the company has attracted a lot of attention and investment from companies like Google, Amazon, Salesforce and NVIDIA.
What Is An IPO?
It’s probably worth starting at the basics and asking: what actually is an IPO? An IPO, or initial public offering, is when a privately owned company lists its shares on a public stock exchange, allowing members of the public to become shareholders.
IPOs are popular because they allow businesses to raise money and give investors a chance to take some money out. For an AI company that has grown as quickly as Anthropic, an IPO can mean it has the capital to grow faster and further than it can on its own.
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The Lead Up To An IPO
Recent stories by the Financial Times and Reuters have suggested that the company will turn to their long-standing Silicon Valley law firm Wilson Sonsini to advise them on their listing. The firm is well known for other big IPOs, including names like Google, Linkedin and Lyft.
And whilst it has been reported that Anthropic is speaking to some investment banks, an Anthropic spokesperson told Reuters the company has not decided when or even if it will go public.
Anthropic’s Valuation Soars
Whilst an IPO may or may not be on the horizon for 2026, what is known is that Anthropic is launching a private funding round that will boost its valuation to $300 billion.
This comes after Microsoft and NVIDIA both announced that they would invest up to $15 billion in the company earlier this year.
What’s crazy is the rise in valuation. In September, Anthropic was valued at $183 billion, meaning this new funding round could almost double its value.
Racing OpenAI To Market
Some have speculated that Anthropic’s potential IPO could put them in a direct race with OpenAI, which has also been rumoured to be considering listing on the public stock market. Some even suggested that OpenAI’s IPO could push them to a trillion dollar valuation, one of the largest in history.
However, OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar recently shut down rumours, saying that the company isn’t yet ready to list.
So, does this leave a nice gap for Anthropic to fill? Or is OpenAI waiting for another AI firm to test the water first?
A Test For Public Markets
If Anthropic does list, it will be an interesting litmus test for the market. Is the public ready to buy into high AI company valuations? Or will this push the sector even closer to bubble territory?
Either way, it seems like the shakes are high, and it will be interesting to see if Anthropic does decide to take the plunge, or simply wait on the side lines for now.
So, What Next?
A lot can change between now and next year, but if Anthropic do go ahead and list, it’s sure to be a big event.
With so much speculation around valuations in the sector, alongside fears of an AI bubble, it will be interesting to see whether Anthropic do go ahead, and how the markets react.
