Value, revenue, dangers, and more in Anthropic’s $64 billion IPO
The anticipated public offering of Anthropic PBC, the developer of Claude AI models, is attracting significant interest from investors and traders as the artificial intelligence firm gears up for its market entry. Anthropic is aiming for a fully diluted valuation of as much as $1.4 trillion, marking a significant entry for a dedicated AI firm, according to source. The primary and secondary share offering is anticipated to generate approximately $64.4 billion, consisting of roughly 801.4 million new shares alongside 23.6 million shares from current investors. The company is targeting a listing in the week of November 16, with shares anticipated to commence trading on November 19, as reported by source. In a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Anthropic announced its intention to offer 825 million shares priced between $70 and $78 each. The shares will trade under the symbol “ANT”.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Morgan Stanley are at the forefront of the IPO, with the involvement of 20 additional banks as indicated in the filing. In conjunction with the IPO, Anthropic intends to secure $26 billion via a distinct private placement that will feature cornerstone investors such as Google-parent Alphabet, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Advanced Micro Devices. Some investors are providing segments of their Anthropic IPO allocations to other potential backers, enabling them to garner extra fees and mitigate their risk as trading commences. Others possessing pre-IPO stakes are promoting them to purchasers via special purpose vehicles, as reported by source. Anthropic is aiming to allocate approximately 15-20 percent of its shares for retail investors and is collaborating with broking firms including Charles Schwab, Robinhood, and SoFi.
Anthropic’s IPO filing allocates significant attention to the potential risks linked to its technology. Concerns exist that advanced AI systems may present catastrophic or existential risks to society if their development and deployment are not handled with due responsibility. The company also cautions that its public stances on AI regulation and safety may render it vulnerable to “political backlash, or disproportionate regulatory action”. The filing underscores the company’s significant computing expenses as well. Anthropic has pledged hundreds of billions of dollars toward computing capacity and cautioned that it will need to fulfilll numerous payment obligations, even in the event of insufficient demand. Under the governance structure detailed in the filing, the seven co-founders, spearheaded by chief executive Dario Amodei and his sister, president Daniela Amodei, will maintain just over half of the shareholder votes following the listing.
This would imply that external investors will not possess the ability to override the founders, even subsequent to the company’s public offering. Anthropic’s revenue reached $17 billion in the third quarter, an increase from $1.4 billion in the same period last year, as reported in the filing. As of October 31, the annualised run-rate revenue was approximately $81 billion, reflecting an increase of $10 billion since the end of September, according to the company’s statement. However, the company’s quarterly growth rate has experienced a significant decline, despite revenue reaching nearly $17 billion for the three months ending September 30, as reported by source. Meanwhile, estimates in recent months had placed Anthropic’s valuation at a staggering $2 trillion, as reported by source. Those estimates have subsequently decreased in tandem with a downturn in AI stocks on Wall Street.
