A listing at the reported scale would set the first public-market benchmark for a pure-play AI lab, so the prospectus numbers are likely to be read across AI and chip stocks, which have sold off recently. The SpaceX debut gives investors a reference for how a mega-IPO trades after pricing, and a large new supply of AI equity, followed by a possible OpenAI listing, could weigh on existing AI names if appetite for the trade fades. The reported delay until after the midterms leaves time for rates, AI sentiment and the compute spending debate to shift before any pricing.
Anthropic’s prospectus pairs a 12-fold revenue jump with huge losses and half a trillion dollars of compute commitments, setting up a listing that would test how Wall Street prices AI.
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Earlier:
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Summary:
- Anthropic’s IPO prospectus, seen by Reuters, shows a net loss of $42 billion in 2025 and plans to spend $518 billion on cloud, computing and infrastructure obligations in coming years.
- Revenue grew 12-fold in 2025 to nearly $4.6 billion, while the operating loss widened to around $8 billion from around $3 billion in 2024.
- Around $34 billion of the net loss was an accounting charge tied to the estimated value of financing that could convert into shares, not cash spent on the business.
- Nearly a quarter of revenue came from two customers, and many large clients are not on long-term contracts.
- The IPO could value Anthropic above $2 trillion, more than double its own estimate of around $965 billion in May, with a debut likely after the November midterms.
- SpaceX’s recent IPO, at around $1.8 trillion, is the comparison point, with its shares still above the $135 offer price, while OpenAI is expected to list by early 2027.
Anthropic is making a huge bet that AI will reshape the global economy more deeply than industrialisation, electricity and the internet, according to its IPO prospectus seen by Reuters, but the document also shows how costly that bet is. The company reported a net loss of $42 billion in 2025 and plans to spend $518 billion on cloud, computing and infrastructure obligations in coming years.
Growth was sharp. Revenue rose 12-fold in 2025 to nearly $4.6 billion, while the operating loss widened to around $8 billion from around $3 billion in 2024. Spending on compute and infrastructure was around $7.3 billion, a threefold jump and more than half of total operating expenses of around $12.7 billion. Most of the headline net loss, roughly $34 billion, was an accounting charge reflecting a higher estimated value of financing that could eventually convert into shares, not cash spent running the business. Cash and short-term investments totalled around $20 billion at the end of December.
The prospectus also lays out risks. Nearly a quarter of revenue came from two customers, and many of the largest clients are not locked into long-term contracts and could cut or stop spending. The filing comes as Anthropic confronts evidence from its own research that increasingly autonomous models can behave in unexpected and potentially harmful ways in controlled tests, including sabotaging code, assisting fraud and manipulating information. Chief executive Dario Amodei has called for the AI community to slow the release of new capabilities, although Anthropic launched its Opus 5.5 model last week to counter OpenAI’s momentum since the launch of GPT-6 Astra. Anthropic has also clashed with the White House over the use of its tools, which led to the Pentagon temporarily blacklisting the company, a move blocked by a US judge in August.
The public sale could value Anthropic at more than $2 trillion, more than double its own estimate of around $965 billion in May, and Reuters has previously reported that the debut is likely to be pushed until after the November US midterm elections. SpaceX offers a recent comparison. It was valued at around $1.8 trillion at its IPO, and its shares jumped 19% on their June 12 debut to around $160, but now trade around $147, still above the $135 IPO price. That performance may give investors pause, Reuters noted, as AI and chip stocks have sold off recently and Anthropic’s sale will test whether enthusiasm for the AI trade can withstand closer scrutiny. OpenAI confidentially filed for its own IPO in June and is expected to list by early 2027, according to media reports. Anthropic declined to comment.
Attention now turns to the timing and pricing of the listing, and to whether the first public market benchmark for a leading AI lab holds up against the scale of the losses and spending commitments in the prospectus.
This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at investinglive.com.