Anthropic's IPO Expected to Surpass SpaceX's Record-Setting Deal

[Financial News] Anthropic's initial public offering (IPO) is expected to match or exceed the record set by SpaceX.
According to foreign media reports on the 21st, Anthropic is reviewing detailed figures as it prepares to file a registration statement for its listing as early as the end of this month. Krishna Rao, the chief financial officer, reportedly avoided commenting on the company's valuation during a recent investor briefing.
Elon Musk's aerospace and artificial intelligence company SpaceX raised $75 billion in its June IPO, setting the largest IPO record in history. After the over-allotment option was exercised, the final amount raised increased to $86.2 billion.
Anthropic, the developer of the AI model Claude, raised $6.5 billion in May at a valuation of $96.5 billion. That topped OpenAI's valuation of $85.2 billion, which was set in March when the rival raised $12.2 billion.
Founded in 2021, Anthropic has become one of the world's most closely watched pre-IPO companies, driven by explosive growth in enterprise AI services such as coding.
Anthropic posted adjusted operating profit for the first time in the second quarter. Its net loss last year widened to $42 billion, nearly five times the $8.3 billion loss a year earlier.
As AI demand continues to surge, revenue growth remains very strong. Preliminary second-quarter revenue exceeded $11.5 billion, up 14.6 times from $787 million in the same period last year.
Its annualized revenue surpassed $65 billion as of the end of July.
Bloomberg added that Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, and JPMorgan Chase & Co. are serving as lead underwriters, and that other investment banks could be added.
A major challenge Anthropic faces as it prepares for its IPO is the enormous cost of building advanced AI systems.
Next-generation AI development requires massive infrastructure. Unlike other big tech companies such as Microsoft (MS) and Google, Anthropic does not operate an AI data center business, so it must rely entirely on outside sources for that infrastructure.
As a result, investors in the offering are focusing on whether Anthropic can secure stable AI infrastructure and prove long-term profitability while absorbing the rapidly rising infrastructure costs.
Meanwhile, Sarah Friar, CFO of rival OpenAI, told employees at an all-hands meeting, "OpenAI will be a public company next year."


[email protected] Reporter Lee Seok-woo Reporter