Anthropic, the AI developer behind the Claude chatbot, filed paperwork for a US stock market listing expected to value the company above $1.8 trillion, making it potentially the largest initial public offering on record. The firm did not disclose share prices, quantities or a listing date but said it will trade on Nasdaq under the symbol ANT.
In its regulatory filing, Anthropic warned that advanced AI systems "could, if not developed, deployed, and operated with appropriate safeguards, oversight, and security measures, pose catastrophic or existential risks to humanity, particularly if such systems were misused, replicated, weaponised, or allowed to operate with a high degree of autonomy." The company said policymakers, regulators, researchers and internal staff had raised these concerns.
Anthropic reported $16.3 billion in revenue for the first half of 2024 but posted losses exceeding $80.7 billion over the same period. In its filing, the company said it would make large forward investments that "may seem irresponsibly large at first glance" and pledged to be "bold but sane" in pursuit of advanced AI models. The firm added that failure to develop the most advanced AI models could harm its business.
The listing makes Anthropic the first fully AI-focused public company, a development investment strategists say will test investor appetite for the sector. Raymond James chief market strategist Matt Orton told the BBC that investors expected to see rapid growth alongside rapid financial losses, so the filing would not surprise markets. Peter Andersen, founder of Andersen Capital Management, called the planned listing "a significant milestone in the development of artificial intelligence" and said its outcome would reflect investor sentiment on continued AI funding.
Anthropic also used its filing to outline potential business benefits, envisioning AI unlocking "millions of virtual agents" and accelerating progress in biology, medicine and economic productivity. The company warned of dependency on Taiwanese chipmakers and US data centres, regulatory risks tied to AI harms and uncertainty over liability for actions taken by its systems. On the same day as the filing, rights holders to Elvis Presley's music sued Anthropic, accusing it of using hundreds of the singer's songs to train Claude.