Executives at Anthropic have held internal discussions about conducting an initial public offering of the artificial intelligence company’s shares as early as the fourth quarter of 2026, according to people with knowledge of the conversations.
Bankers competing to lead the sale anticipate that Anthropic’s public offering could raise in excess of $60 billion, though sources say the precise target figure will likely be finalized only shortly before the securities hit the market.
The size of the potential offering would place it among the largest IPOs on record, behind SpaceX, which is reportedly planning to raise up to $75 billion potentially by as early as June. The emergence of multiple very large AI-focused listings is seen within the context of intense demand for capital by companies building and operating proprietary large-scale models.
OpenAI, a direct competitor to Anthropic, is also reported to be preparing for a public listing this year, with indications that it may try to reach the public markets ahead of Anthropic. Observers note that the rush toward IPOs is occurring amid growing unease about tightening market liquidity, influenced by persistent inflation and lower odds of interest-rate reductions from the Federal Reserve within the calendar year.
Both Anthropic and OpenAI require substantial funding to underwrite the development and operational costs of their proprietary AI systems. Anthropic completed a $30 billion funding round at a $380 billion valuation in February, while OpenAI closed a $120 billion round valuing it at $850 billion earlier in March.
Anthropic counts major technology investors among its backers, including Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) and Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN). The company was founded in 2021 by a group of former OpenAI researchers, and its leadership includes CEO Dario Amodei.
Contextual note: The article includes a brief reference made in-site about Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), which appears elsewhere on the same platform but is not part of Anthropic’s IPO reporting.