Raising close to $90 billion takes a lot of cash, and some fund managers may trim existing megacap tech holdings to make room, which could weigh on the Nasdaq as pricing approaches. Heavy oversubscription is a positive read-through for AI infrastructure stocks, especially the seven companies in the placement, because it shows public appetite for direct AI exposure remains strong. A strong first day would likely support the wider IPO pipeline, including OpenAI, which is reportedly aiming for 2027. A weak open would hit sentiment across AI-linked equities.
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Earlier:
- US stocks rally as AI shares rebound
- Anthropic reserves up to 20% of its $64 billion IPO for retail investors
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Anthropic is heading into its debut with orders well ahead of supply, but the record-breaking $90 billion headline depends on pricing at the very top of the range.
Summary:
- Anthropic’s IPO is already oversubscribed several times, driven by anchor-sized indications of interest, Bloomberg reported, citing unnamed sources
- Shares are marketed at $70 to $78 each, implying a valuation of about $1.4 trillion, with trading expected to start next Thursday
- The company is offering around 801 million Class A shares, and existing investors are selling roughly 24 million more
- AMD, Broadcom, Google, Micron, Microsoft, Nvidia and TSMC have committed to buy $26 billion of Class N stock in a private placement
- The combined target of about $90 billion would top SpaceX’s June record of about $86 billion including its over-allotment
- CEO Dario Amodei will hold a live-streamed event with JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon on Friday
Anthropic’s initial public offering is already covered several times over, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. That puts the Claude developer on course for what could be the largest stock market debut on record when its shares start trading next Thursday. The listing would make Anthropic the first major standalone frontier AI lab to go public.
According to the report, demand has been driven by indications of interest big enough to anchor the deal. In other words, individual investors are signalling orders large enough to underpin the whole book.
A filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday set the price range at $70 to $78 a share, which would value the company at about $1.4 trillion. Anthropic is offering around 801 million Class A shares, and existing investors plan to sell roughly 24 million more. Separately, Advanced Micro Devices, Broadcom, Google, Micron Technology, Microsoft, Nvidia and TSMC have committed to buy a combined $26 billion of Class N common stock through a private placement.
Together, the IPO and placement target about $90 billion. That would beat SpaceX’s June debut, which raised $75 billion in its base offering and about $86 billion once its over-allotment option was exercised. On the filing’s numbers, though, the $90 billion total assumes pricing at the top of the range. It also includes shares sold by existing holders, and that money goes to them, not to the company. At the bottom of the range, the combined total would be closer to $84 billion, short of SpaceX’s full raise.
The valuation is also a sharp step up from the private market. In June, Anthropic raised $65 billion at a $965 billion valuation, a round investors described as heavily oversubscribed, before filing confidentially for its listing. A $1.4 trillion valuation would be roughly 45% above that level.
To keep momentum going, chief executive Dario Amodei will hold a live-streamed event with JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon on Friday, the report said.
Final pricing will be the first real test of what public investors will pay for a frontier AI developer itself, not just the chipmakers and cloud providers that supply it. Seven of those suppliers are now also shareholders through the placement, which ties their fortunes more closely to Anthropic’s. Whether the deal prices at the top of the range, or gets bigger, will show how much of the private-market enthusiasm carries over.
This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at investinglive.com.