Anthropic, the artificial intelligence company behind the Claude family of models, has been positioning itself for one of the largest initial public offerings in history, and the question of exactly how large has become a live debate on Wall Street this week.
Earlier reporting had Anthropic targeting a valuation around two trillion dollars for its planned offering, building on a private funding round in May that valued the company at roughly nine hundred sixty five billion dollars. Backers have pointed to rapid revenue growth, with some projecting Anthropic's annualized revenue could reach between one hundred billion and one hundred twenty billion dollars by the end of the year, as justification for the lofty price tag.
But on Thursday, Reuters reported that some current and prospective investors are now discussing a lower figure, closer to one and a half trillion dollars, a reduction of roughly five hundred billion dollars from the earlier target. The shift reflects concerns some investors have raised about the pace of revenue growth and broader questions about how richly AI companies should be valued after a volatile stretch for AI-linked stocks. At least one research firm has been far more skeptical still, suggesting Anthropic's fundamentals support a valuation closer to the hundred fifty billion dollar range, a fraction of the figures under discussion among its backers.
The share sale is reportedly still planned for November, though the final valuation will depend heavily on market conditions between now and then. The debate over Anthropic's price tag has become something of a proxy for a wider argument playing out across markets this month about whether the enormous sums being invested in AI infrastructure and models are justified by the revenue being generated, or whether valuations have outrun the underlying business.
Anthropic's roadshow and final pricing, expected in the weeks ahead, will be closely watched as a test of investor appetite for AI valuations after a rocky October for tech stocks.
What does Anthropic do?
Anthropic is an artificial intelligence company that develops the Claude family of AI models.
Why has the valuation estimate dropped?
Reuters reported some investors have grown more cautious about the pace of revenue growth and broader AI valuations industry-wide.