Anthropic’s IPO Faces Valuation and Timing Pushback — SkimNews
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- Anthropic’s planned roadshow, initially expected for the week of Nov. 9 with pricing the following week, faces doubts among potential investors about whether it can proceed in time for a November listing, four people familiar with investor discussions said.
- Wall Street Journal reported that IPO investors were skeptical Anthropic could achieve a $1.5 trillion public-listing valuation; Reuters’ investor sources also put that figure at the high end, while some investors expected the IPO to reach $100 billion and earlier expectations had peaked at $2 trillion.
- Anthropic left its October revenue figure blank in an updated S-1, leaving investors to await the number and assess whether growth improved after a recent slowdown, two people said.
- Anthropic is under pressure to offer a bigger discount to secure commitments, people said, because investors see its need for capital against record quarterly losses and large commitments to AI-buildout partners.
- Rick Meckler of Cherry Lane Investments said Anthropic will go public and investors will retain strong interest, while expecting some pullback in private-market valuations; analysts separately said Anthropic, like SpaceX before it, is likely to benefit from strong retail demand.
- S&P 1500 technology stocks bore the brunt of the selloff: more than 50 fell by 10% or more, tech underperformed the S&P 500 by 10.7% over the past month—the worst monthly gap since May 2002—and Vanda Research called retail selling the strongest since the Covid-19 pandemic.
- Anthropic could still proceed by year-end, people said, but waiting for AI-related markets to look more resilient was the stated reason to delay; a delay would fuel concern about AI’s health after state ballot wins hardened opposition to data centers.
Why it matters: For Anthropic and its investors, the $1.5 trillion valuation debate is tied to a concrete deadline: the roadshow was initially set for the week of Nov. 9, with pricing the following week. Sources linked the need for a bigger discount to record quarterly losses and large commitments to AI partners.
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