Anthropic is preparing for a stock market debut that people close to the deal say could rival or top the biggest IPO in history. According to Bloomberg, the Claude developer expects to match or exceed the size of SpaceX's record-setting offering, and could publicly file its paperwork as soon as the end of August.
SpaceX initially targeted $75 billion when it went public earlier this year and ultimately raised $86.2 billion once its overallotment option was exercised. Anthropic executives, led by Chief Financial Officer Krishna Rao, have been briefing investors in recent weeks but have so far declined to confirm a specific valuation target.
From Confidential Filing To Wall Street Debut
Anthropic first submitted a confidential draft registration statement to the Securities and Exchange Commission back on June 1, edging ahead of rival OpenAI in the race to public markets by about a week. Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan are leading the offering, with additional banks reportedly being added to the roster as the deal takes shape.
The company's growth has been staggering by any normal IPO standard. Anthropic's annualized revenue run rate crossed $65 billion by the end of July, up more than sevenfold from where it stood at the end of last year, following a $65 billion Series H round in May that valued the five-year-old company at $965 billion. Some investors briefed on the matter have told the Financial Times they expect annualized revenue to reach $100 billion to $120 billion by year's end.
Chasing A Trillion-Dollar Debut
Reports differ on just how large the eventual valuation could go, with some investor estimates cited by the Financial Times putting a potential figure as high as $2 trillion when the listing arrives, tentatively expected around October. Even more conservative estimates place Anthropic comfortably above the $1 trillion mark, in the same territory analysts expect for OpenAI's own eventual listing.
If the IPO proceeds at anywhere near the scale being discussed, it would help push 2026 past the current record for US IPO volume, a mark of $195.2 billion set in 2021. As of mid-August, this year's total already stood at $160.6 billion, before accounting for Anthropic's potential debut.
Not Without Friction
The run-up to the IPO hasn't been entirely smooth. Anthropic remains in active litigation with the US Department of Defense after being designated a supply-chain risk earlier this year, and the company continues to compete against both OpenAI and a wave of lower-cost open-source alternatives, including options from Chinese developers. Details of the IPO, including its final size and timing, remain subject to change as discussions with investors continue.