Anthropic, the artificial intelligence company behind the Claude chatbot, will list its shares on the Nasdaq stock exchange on 19 November with a potential valuation of up to $1.3tn, the BBC reported on Tuesday. The loss-making firm has priced shares at between $70 and $78 each, aiming to raise up to $64bn in what will be the first fully AI-focused initial public offering.
The valuation range of $1.1tn to $1.3tn falls short of the $2tn some backers predicted in summer, according to the Financial Times. Anthropic's revenue jumped to $16.2bn in the six months to the end of June from $1.1bn in the same period last year, but its pre-tax loss widened to $80.7bn from $12.9bn. The company will list under the symbol ANT.
The float comes during a turbulent period for technology stocks. The Nasdaq fell sharply last week following US midterm elections, on concerns that a Democrat-led Congress could slow AI development and data centre construction. Fiona Cincotta, a senior market analyst at City Index, told Reuters that the $64bn Anthropic wants to raise is fairly bullish given the volatility and concerns towards AI seen particularly last week. She added that the company appears upbeat about the outlook for AI and believes demand will be there.
Anthropic was co-founded in 2021 by Dario and Daniela Amodei and five others, all of whom previously worked at OpenAI, the rival behind ChatGPT. OpenAI announced its own listing plans in June and is now expected to go public early next year. At $1.3tn, Anthropic's possible valuation would sit below SpaceX, Elon Musk's rocket and AI company, which was valued at nearly $1.8tn when it listed in June.
The listing announcements from both Anthropic and OpenAI were followed by a series of incidents involving AI agents going rogue. Current and former staff of both companies have warned AI technology was being developed without the ability to protect humanity from possible future harms enacted by AI. Anthropic has admitted that advanced AI systems could, if not developed, deployed and operated with appropriate safeguards, oversight and security measures, pose catastrophic or existential risks to humanity, particularly if such systems were misused, replicated, weaponised or allowed to operate with a high degree of autonomy.
Why it matters for wealth
The pricing below summer expectations may offer an entry point for investors reassessing AI sector valuations after the recent market correction. Anthropic has warned that its future success depends largely on its ability to develop the most advanced AI models, and that any failure to do so could adversely affect its business. The company has reiterated promises to develop AI to be beneficial to people.
Source: BBC News
Photo: Rômulo Queiroz / Pexels
