Data and facts
AI company Anthropic is pushing ahead with its initial public offering and aims to start trading on Nasdaq next Thursday (Nov 19) or Friday (Nov 20) under the proposed ticker ANT, The Wall Street Journal reported on Nov 10. The company is expected to disclose key details early this week, including its IPO valuation range, the number of shares to be offered and the offer price.
The market had previously expected Anthropic's IPO valuation at about $1.5 trillion, with discussion at one point approaching $2 trillion. But after AI-related stocks fell sharply last week, some major institutional investors began pressing the company to accept a lower valuation. Some investors see $1.5 trillion as already "on the high side" and a more realistic range at $1.1 trillion to $1.3 trillion; others believe the valuation could be close to $1 trillion.
| Key metric | Previous market expectation | Latest market expectation |
|---|---|---|
| IPO valuation | About $1.5 trillion, with discussion at one point approaching $2 trillion | $1.1 trillion to $1.3 trillion, with some seeing close to $1 trillion |
| Fundraising size | $80 billion to $100 billion | Not yet determined |
| Listing timing | Nov 19 or 20 | No public delay; plan unchanged |
| Ticker | ANT | ANT |
Analysis
Despite the cooling sentiment, Anthropic has not publicly delayed its listing plan. The company will meet core investors this week and launch its roadshow to test market appetite for a tech IPO of rare scale. It has been reported that Anthropic hopes to raise $80 billion to $100 billion, which would make it one of the largest IPOs in the world; however, the final fundraising size, offer price and valuation are all still undetermined.
The listing is seen as a key test of the valuation logic underpinning the AI industry. On one hand, Anthropic is viewed as a core beneficiary of the AI infrastructure wave, thanks to its Claude model series, rapidly growing revenue and massive compute investment. On the other, investors are increasingly focused on AI companies' huge capital expenditure, profitability and compute supply bottlenecks, putting pressure on high valuations.
Anthropic's initial public offering could be a crucial test of investor confidence in the AI trade, CNBC's Jim Cramer said.
— CNBC's Jim Cramer said Anthropic's initial public offering could be a crucial test of investor confidence in the AI trade.
What to watch
The market will closely watch the valuation range, number of shares offered and offer price that Anthropic discloses early this week, as well as feedback from institutional investors during the roadshow. Whether the final fundraising size and valuation can be achieved in a cooling market will be an important window into capital flows in the AI industry.