Anthropic IPO Targets Retail Investors at Potential $1.5 Trillion Valuation
Anthropic PBC has engaged JPMorgan Chase & Co. to spearhead the United States sales of shares to individual investors in its potentially record-setting initial public offering, according to sources. The company behind Claude has considered a retail offering of approximately 15% to 20% of the shares available in the IPO overall, according to several sources. JPMorgan Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon is anticipated to engage in the Wall Street bank’s campaign, according to one source. JPMorgan is once again taking the lead in coordinating the collection of retail orders for SpaceX’s $86.2 billion IPO, which reportedly attracted over $100 billion in demand from individual investors, according to source.
Citigroup Inc. is poised to oversee the international retail offering, according to sources . Anthropic’s IPO encompasses offerings in Australia, Canada, Japan, select countries within the European Economic Area, Switzerland, and the UK, as detailed in the IPO filing. JPMorgan is facilitating engagement regarding Anthropic’s IPO with high-net-worth investors and private banking clients, along with broker platforms, according to sources. Deliberations are ongoing, and details, including the portion of the offering designated for retail, may be subject to change, according to sources. Representatives for Anthropic, JPMorgan, and Citigroup refrained from providing comments.
Anthropic filed publicly on Monday for an IPO that would see it and some of its investors sell shares, marking the first listing by a company focused primarily on developing the most advanced AI models. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley are at the forefront of the offering. Investors are communicating to bankers involved in the deal that their assessment of a fair valuation has adjusted to approximately $1.4 trillion to $1.5 trillion, although a valuation nearer to $1.75 trillion remains within the realm of possibility, according to source. The capital required to finance the advancement of AI and its related infrastructure has prompted firms to secure tens of billions of dollars simultaneously.
On Monday, Meta Platforms Inc. initiated a strategy to secure up to $98 billion in equity, marking what could be one of the largest financing endeavours of its nature in history. It follows the $85 billion equity fundraising plan of Google parent Alphabet Inc. earlier this year. Anthropic and its competitor OpenAI are attempting to secure unprecedented funding amid increasing public concern regarding AI safety, particularly following a series of notable hacking incidents perpetrated by malicious actors.
