Anthropic Targets $1.4 Trillion Valuation with IPO Priced Between $70 and $78 Per Share

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Anthropic plans to raise up to $64.35 billion through an IPO priced between $70 and $78 per share, aiming for a $1.404 trillion valuation, with significant private investments from tech giants including Google and Nvidia.

Anthropic, the artificial intelligence company known for developing the Claude language model, has announced plans to proceed with its initial public offering (IPO) despite recent market uncertainties and a reduction in broader AI sector investments. The company has set an IPO price range of $70 to $78 per Class A share, offering up to 825 million shares. This offering could raise between $57.75 billion and $64.35 billion in fresh capital, positioning Anthropic at an estimated fully diluted valuation of approximately $1.404 trillion if the shares price at the top of the range.

This planned valuation marks a notable increase from the $965 billion valuation Anthropic reached during a fundraising round in May but falls short of the earlier ambitious target near $2 trillion. In addition to the public share sale, Anthropic has arranged a private placement of $26 billion in non-voting Class N shares to major technology companies including AMD, Broadcom, Google, Micron, Microsoft, Nvidia, and TSMC. Google and Nvidia individually are set to invest $10 billion each in this private sale.

Overall, Anthropic expects net proceeds from both public and private sales to range between $84.6 billion and $93.7 billion. The IPO is managed by leading underwriters Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, who also have the option to acquire an additional 123.75 million shares at the IPO price.

Anthropic is structured as a public benefit corporation, with founders holding Class F shares that represent 50.1% of voting power, ensuring founder control. Additionally, the Long-Term Benefit Trust will select a majority of the board members, limiting voting influence for Class A shareholders.

The company intends to list on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol "ANT," with trading expected to commence around November 19.

Financially, Anthropic reported revenues of $17 billion in the third quarter and $33.2 billion over the first nine months of the year. Despite this, the company recorded a net loss of $104 billion for the nine months, driven by substantial expenditures on computing and infrastructure commitments totaling $900.9 billion. Anthropic maintains a strong cash position, holding nearly $132 billion in cash and short-term investments.

Anthropic's IPO comes amid intense competition in the AI sector, with OpenAI recently valued at $1.25 trillion following an $11 billion funding round, underscoring the high stakes and investor appetite in AI ventures.