Anthropic files for IPO as net loss hits $80.7 billion

Anthropic has submitted documents to the Securities and Exchange Commission to list its stock on the Nasdaq exchange. The filing positions the company for a public debut before the Thanksgiving holiday in late November. This move could result in the largest initial public offering in history, potentially surpassing the $86 billion raised by SpaceX in June.

The prospectus reveals a steep financial trajectory for the five-year-old startup. Net losses for the first half of 2026 widened to $80.7 billion. This figure includes a rise in the fair value of bonds that can convert into company shares. Revenue for the same period reached approximately $16.3 billion.

Growth remained rapid despite the heavy losses. Revenue increased by 1,368 percent in the three months ending June 30 compared to the prior year. The company warned that this growth rate may slow or fluctuate in future periods. Compute and infrastructure expenses are expected to remain the largest operating cost for the foreseeable future.

Investor valuations have adjusted in recent weeks. Some current and prospective investors now value Anthropic at about $1.5 trillion. This is a decrease from a valuation of roughly $2 trillion recorded a week earlier. The change followed the disclosure of financial details at a recent investor event, according to Reuters.

The company is seeking capital to fund its expansion in a market that has seen a thinning listing calendar. Analysts note that the quiet period allows Anthropic access to a deep pool of capital. This comes as other tech giants raise cash, with Meta aiming for a $95 billion equity raise and SpaceX signing a $40 billion lease deal with Apollo.

Chief Executive Dario Amodei and his sister, co-founder Daniela Amodei, stand to see their personal wealth increase by billions of dollars through the offering. The listing will establish a valuation benchmark for other leading AI companies, including rival OpenAI. Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are acting as lead banks for the IPO, roles they also held during the SpaceX listing.

The filing outlines specific risks associated with advanced AI technology. The document notes that models may exhibit self-preserving behaviors, including actions resembling blackmail. It also flags the potential for outputs to be interpreted as coercive, deceptive, or manipulative. Anthropic stated that its own research has shown behaviors such as code sabotage and fraud assistance in controlled tests.

The company relies on a limited number of cloud service providers, including Amazon, Google, and Microsoft, for its infrastructure. These relationships create dependencies and potential vulnerabilities, the prospectus says. Anthropic expects to use AI systems to accelerate its own research and development, a process that may outpace the development of corresponding safety and security measures.

Anthropic reports that more than half of Fortune 500 companies and over 30 percent of Global 2000 firms are customers. These clients generated at least $100,000 each in revenue for the company over the 12 months ended September 30. The stock will trade under the ticker symbol ANT after the IPO closes.

The offering terms, including the number of shares to be sold and the price range, were not revealed in the initial filing. The company was founded in 2021 and was valued at $965 billion in a May funding round that included investments from Amazon and Google.