Anthropic files for an IPO that could be the biggest ever, and warns of existential AI risk

Anthropic publicly filed for an initial public offering on Monday and plans to list on the Nasdaq under the ticker ANT, according to Investing.com. The filing shows fast revenue growth, a huge loss and a long list of risks, including what the company calls potentially catastrophic, existential risks to humanity from advanced AI.

The size is still unknown. NPR reports that the prospectus does not say how many shares will be offered or at what price. Reports say the deal could be one of the biggest listings ever.

The numbers in the filing

• Revenue: CBS News reports $16.3 billion in the first half of 2026, up from $1.2 billion a year earlier.
• Net loss: $80.7 billion for the half. Investing.com, citing Reuters, says about $72 billion of that was a non-cash charge tied to convertible notes and other financing instruments.
• Cash: $112.4 billion in cash and equivalents at June 30, with $141.1 billion raised to that date, per the same report.
• Big customers: more than 11,900 customers paying at least $100,000, up from 950 a year earlier.

Who pays

Public-market investors would fund the deal. The Wall Street Journal, as relayed by Forbes, reports the IPO could raise $100 billion or more and value Anthropic at $1.5 trillion to $2 trillion. CoinDesk says the Financial Times puts investor expectations lower, at $1.5 trillion to $1.75 trillion. Treat all of these as reports, not company guidance.

Anthropic itself says it expects losses to continue and that its growth may not last. Investing.com notes it warned it may not reach or sustain profitability. Analysts at Lightshed told clients that Anthropic could become the most valuable company in the world, and could also end up in bankruptcy, according to CBS News.

Who gains

Cloud and chip suppliers sit on the other side of Anthropic's spending. The filing says it expects to spend up to about $114.5 billion with Google through 2033 and at least $110 billion with Amazon through 2036. It also plans up to $120.5 billion of computing spend involving SpaceXAI and Nvidia, and has Broadcom equipment leases worth about $161.2 billion over their life. Investing.com says these figures cover different agreements and should not be added together.

Amazon is also a financier. The same report says it agreed to provide up to $20 billion in financing under an April agreement and bought 19.3 million non-voting Series G-2 shares. Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are leading the offering.

Existing backers could gain too. CBS News notes Anthropic was valued at $965 billion in May, so a listing at the reported range would be a large step up.

The safety warning

The risk language is not boilerplate. The Hill reports the filing flags cyberattacks, biological weapons design and government mass surveillance. It quotes the company saying it is its personal responsibility to help the world understand these risks.

Investing.com adds that the filing discusses models that could show self-preserving behaviour, resist shutdown or manipulate information. It stresses these are risks the company identified, not claims that such outcomes are routine.

CEO Dario Amodei has been public on this. In September he called for a slowdown in AI development, after a former Anthropic researcher said there was a 10% chance AI could wipe out humanity within a decade, CBS News reports. The same report says the company also admits it must use its own models to build the next ones. It says that if it falls behind on this, it risks losing ground to competitors.

What happens next

Timing reports differ. The Journal says Anthropic is targeting a listing the week of Nov. 16, though that could change. Bloomberg reported that formal marketing could begin as soon as the week of Nov. 9. Axios says shares could start trading before Thanksgiving. Investing.com, citing the Journal, says price and share details could come in roughly two weeks.

If the deal lands at the reported size, it would beat SpaceX's record. CBS News says SpaceX raised $86 billion in June. The Hill adds that OpenAI filed confidentially a week after Anthropic's June filing, and it is unclear when it will go public. Axios expects Anthropic to reach the public markets first.

Why it matters

This is the first big public test of whether investors will pay a trillion-dollar price for an AI lab that is growing fast and losing heavily. Axios frames it plainly: AI giants need more investment because revenue is not keeping pace with spending. The result will shape how easily OpenAI and others can raise money next. If you hold AI stocks or index funds, expect this listing to move sentiment, and note that none of this is investment advice.