Anthropic Pushes Back IPO, Eyes Mid-October Launch of Offering

Anthropic, the developer of the generative artificial intelligence model Claude, has pushed back its initial public offering timeline. The company now plans to release its prospectus in late September, later than the as-early-as-next-week timing previously expected, and begin the formal offering process for institutional investors in mid-October.

Reuters reported on September 4 that Anthropic is pursuing a plan to begin IPO marketing as early as mid-October and complete the listing before the U.S. midterm elections in November.

The market had previously expected Anthropic to publish its IPO prospectus next week and list in New York in late September or early October. The prospectus schedule has now slipped to late September, delaying the broader listing timetable.

Before the listing, Anthropic plans to complete arrangements for a $15 billion revolving credit facility. The facility would allow the company to borrow as needed up to a preset limit. Anthropic is in talks with financial institutions to expand its existing credit line to $15 billion.

Once the credit facility is finalized, analysts at the investment banks involved in the loan and the IPO are slated to meet with Anthropic management. The prospectus release and an institutional investor roadshow would follow. Companies typically leave a gap of several weeks between analyst meetings and a prospectus release, but Anthropic may be able to shorten that preparation period because the analysts already have a strong understanding of the company, Reuters reported.

The market is also betting Anthropic could reach a $2 trillion valuation at listing. If it goes public at that level, it would surpass SpaceX, which listed in June at a $1.77 trillion valuation, and rank among the largest IPOs ever. The deal is poised to test investor appetite in equity markets for fast-growing AI companies.

Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup are working on Anthropic's IPO. With rival OpenAI also pursuing a listing, demand for Anthropic's offering could influence future valuations and listing timelines for AI companies.