Anthropic Eyes 2026 IPO as Valuation Soars Past US$300 Billion

Anthropic has initiated preliminary discussions with law office Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati and investment banks for a potential initial public offering as early as 2026. The AI developer is simultaneously pursuing a private capital round that would value the company above US$300 billion to compete with OpenAI, according to the Financial Times.

These moves to formalize corporate structures and seek liquidity respond to the operational maturity reached by the company. Regarding the organization's financial movements, an Anthropic spokesperson tells the Financial Times that "it is fairly standard practice for companies operating at our scale and revenue level to effectively operate as if they are publicly traded companies."

Anthropic’s move occurs in an environment of intense competition and high capital consumption within the Generative AI sector. The requirement for substantial financing addresses the technological race against OpenAI, a competitor that recently closed a significant share sale. To structure this potential transition to the public market, Anthropic hired Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. This law office holds a track record in high-profile technology IPOs, including those of Google, LinkedIn, and Lyft. Furthermore, the hiring of Krishna Rao, former Executive, Airbnb, reinforces internal financial planning. Rao played a determining role in the 2020 public offering of Airbnb.

Discussions with investment banks remain in a preliminary and informal phase, according to the Financial Times. Projected valuation in private markets shows an upward trend. Previous reports from CNBC placed the recent valuation of the company in a range near US$350 billion. This capitalization relies on combined investment commitments that amount to US$15 billion, broken down into contributions of up to US$5 billion from Microsoft and US$10 billion from Nvidia.

Anthropic has allocated these resources to expand infrastructure critical for the development of language models. The company recently announced an AI infrastructure construction plan valued at US$50 billion, which contemplates the installation of data centers in Texas and New York. Additionally, its growth strategy includes tripling its workforce internationally.

Analysts and investors cited in the report express enthusiasm regarding the potential IPO, noting that this move would allow Anthropic to seize the initiative from OpenAI. The CFO of OpenAI says that the corporation does not seek a listing in the near term, even as it closed a US$6.6 billion share sale at a US$500 billion valuation in October. If Anthropic executes the IPO next year, it would become one of the largest public offerings on record.