Anthropic has begun preliminary meetings with institutional investors ahead of its initial public offering, signaling that the artificial intelligence startup is moving closer to a market debut that could value it at over $1 trillion. According to Bloomberg and CNBC, investment banks including Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, and JPMorgan Chase are arranging meetings between Anthropic executives and potential investors—a process that typically indicates IPO preparations are on track. Industry sources suggest Anthropic is aiming for an October listing.
The timing and valuation of Anthropic's IPO are being closely watched as a barometer of AI investment enthusiasm. The company was valued at $965 billion during its Series H funding round in May, and expectations are that it could exceed $1 trillion at listing. In the over-the-counter market, shares are already trading at around $1.2 trillion. Rival OpenAI, which initially planned a fall IPO, is reportedly considering delaying its listing to next year to push its valuation above $1 trillion. With some voices in the AI industry warning of a bubble, there is a sense that Anthropic must go public before investor sentiment cools.
Favorable Market Conditions
The recent wave of large tech IPOs in the U.S. provides a supportive backdrop for Anthropic. In May, AI chipmaker Cerebras went public, followed by Elon Musk's SpaceX last month. This month, SK Hynix successfully listed American depositary receipts. A resurgent IPO market tends to reward high-growth companies with aggressive valuations, and AI is currently one of the most hyped sectors in American capital markets.
Regulatory Hurdles Remain
However, Anthropic faces policy uncertainties that could complicate its IPO. The U.S. Commerce Department recently imposed an 18-day export control on Anthropic's top AI models, Mythos 5 and Fable 5, citing national security concerns—barring them from being offered to foreign users. The company has also sued the federal government over its designation as a supply chain risk by the Department of Defense. For advanced AI firms, valuations are not solely based on technology but also on how they navigate export controls, security reviews, and government procurement relationships—issues that investors will scrutinize closely during the IPO process.
Ultimately, Anthropic's IPO success hinges on whether the market weighs AI growth expectations more heavily than regulatory risks. A successful listing at a high valuation would likely fuel further AI IPO fever, while rising policy uncertainty or overvaluation concerns could delay or deflate the plans of other AI companies waiting in the wings.