Claude AI creator, Anthropic, set for $1.3tn IPO despite AI warning

Anthropic, the company behind Claude AI, could be valued at up to $1.3 trillion on a fully diluted basis when it lists on Nasdaq on November 19, according to its filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Tuesday

It will offer 825 million shares at $70-$78 each, raising up to $64.4 billion in the base offering, and up to $90.4 billion with a private placement and greenshoe, according to Bloomberg calculations. That is below the $2 trillion some backers predicted in the summer, according to the Financial Times.

The IPO comes despite Anthropic warning in its October 26 SEC filing that AI could pose “catastrophic or existential risks to humanity” without proper safeguards.

It also comes after the Nasdaq fell sharply following last week’s US midterm elections on concerns over AI development and data centre expansion.

Revenue jumped to $16.286 billion in the six months to June, from $1.163 billion a year earlier, the filing shows.

Net loss widened to $80.748 billion from $12.969 billion, but most of that was a $72.4 billion non-cash charge on convertible notes. Its operating loss narrowed to $693 million from $2.135 billion.

Anthropic, which will trade as ANT, will be the first frontier AI lab to go public. At $1.3 trillion, its valuation would be below SpaceX, valued at $1.77 trillion when it listed in June.

Founded in January 2021 by Dario and Daniela Amodei and five others, all ex-OpenAI staff, Anthropic announced its IPO plans in June, according to its filing.