Anthropic, the artificial intelligence company behind the Claude chatbot, has submitted a confidential IPO filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, according to multiple reports. The move positions the San Francisco-based firm to offer shares to the public sometime this year, potentially in one of the largest U.S. initial public offerings ever.
The filing comes amid a fierce race among AI startups to go public, with rival OpenAI also reportedly preparing its own stock market debut. Anthropic recently raised $65 billion in Series H funding at a $965 billion post-money valuation, underscoring investor appetite for frontier AI technology. The confidential filing allows the company to test market conditions before making detailed financial disclosures.
Anthropic's preliminary paperwork was submitted confidentially, a common practice that lets companies keep terms private until closer to the listing. The company has not yet set a target date or disclosed its expected share price. Analysts expect the IPO to attract significant interest, especially given the firm's high valuation and rapid revenue growth.
The offering could reshape the tech IPO landscape, as institutional and retail investors seek exposure to generative AI. If successful, Anthropic's public listing may encourage other AI companies to follow suit, accelerating a wave of market debuts. The company's competitors include OpenAI, which has also engaged in IPO discussions but has not yet filed.
Some analysts caution that Anthropic's valuation may be aggressive given ongoing regulatory scrutiny and the capital-intensive nature of AI development. Skeptics also point to unresolved questions about profitability and long-term competitive advantages in the fast-moving sector.