Anthropic’s Revenue Surges 45% to $16.8 Billion Ahead of Potential
$100 Billion IPO
The company held an investor meeting on Wednesday as it plans a blockbuster
initial public offering as soon as next month.
·
Artificial
intelligence company Anthropic, developer of the Claude chatbot, reported third-quarter
revenue of $16.8 billion, up approximately 45% from $11.6 billion in the second
quarter.
·
The company
told potential investors that it was profitable on an adjusted basis and had an
adjusted gross margin of 85%.
·
Anthropic
is preparing for a potential initial public offering (IPO) as early as November
2026, with its bankers reportedly considering raising more than $100 billion and
a possible valuation of $2 trillion.
·
The IPO
could become one of the largest in history, surpassing SpaceX’s reported $1.77 trillion
valuation at its June listing.
·
The offering
comes amid rising interest rates, uncertainty over debt-funded AI infrastructure
investment and concerns about the long-term sustainability of the AI industry’s
growth.
·
A successful
IPO could encourage other technology companies to go public, while a weak reception
could dampen investor confidence in AI businesses and future listings.
·
Investors
are also assessing competition from cheaper Chinese open-weight AI models and the
implications of CEO Dario Amodei’s calls for stronger safeguards and a slower pace
of advanced AI development.
·
Anthropic’s public offering is expected to be a significant
test of investor appetite for AI companies, with rival OpenAI also reportedly preparing
for a potential IPO in 2027.
[ABS News Service/15.10.2026]
Anthropic executives told a roomful of investors on Wednesday that
the company’s revenue for the third quarter jumped about 45 percent from the prior
quarter to $16.8 billion, as it pursues what may become the largest-ever initial
public offering, two people with knowledge of the company’s presentation said.
The artificial intelligence giant, which makes the Claude chatbot,
could aim to raise more than $100 billion in a public listing, its bankers have said. That could value Anthropic
at $2 trillion, pushing it past Elon Musk’s SpaceX — which went public in June at a $1.77 trillion valuation — as the world’s biggest offering.
The San Francisco company is expected to begin trading as early as next month.
In the meeting with potential investors at its headquarters, Anthropic
sought to generate enthusiasm for the upcoming deal. Revenue was up from $11.6 billion
in the second quarter. The company also said it was profitable after making certain
adjustments, which is not a bottom-line number. And it said its gross margin, or
revenue minus direct costs associated with generating that revenue, was 85 percent
after making certain adjustments.
The Financial Times earlier reported details of Anthropic’s presentation.
Anthropic, which filed to go public in June, has not yet made its
prospectus — which lays out its financial performance — public. Wednesday was the
first official opportunity for potential I.P.O. investors to get a glimpse into
the numbers, which may give insight into the health of the broader A.I. industry
and will help determine the valuation Anthropic will get in its listing.
The I.P.O. is expected to be a milestone for Silicon Valley and Wall
Street, even as Anthropic’s road to the public market
has become increasingly difficult. Rising interest rates have dampened the market for initial public offerings, while the company is grappling with
questions about the sustainability of the A.I. industry’s increasingly debt-funded
build-out.
A successful offering from Anthropic could reopen the door for other
listings and provide a vote of confidence for the industry. A poorly received offering,
on the other hand, could close the door on other listings and affect the broader
stock market. Anthropic’s rival OpenAI has also filed
to go public, probably next year.
Some of Anthropic’s bankers and backers
argue that the company’s size, quick growth and potential opportunities distinguish
it from others. Many of its investors, like Fidelity Investments and T. Rowe Price,
are among the biggest investors in public offerings, so the company may have a built-in
support base, bankers said.
Dario Amodei, Anthropic’s chief executive,
is embroiled in a major debate over A.I. safety. Last month, Dr. Amodei posted an
essay calling for a slowdown in the development of the most advanced A.I. technologies in order
for proper guardrails to be installed.
His essay was followed by similar pushes from other industry leaders.
President Trump later summoned executives to the White House and presented a voluntary
agreement that they had signed to adopt safety
policies that include risk reviews, auditing and evaluations of systems by third
parties.
Some Anthropic investors have said they are keen to better understand
how the company is defining “pacing” the development of these cutting-edge technologies.
They are also focused on the potential impact of cheaper open-weight A.I. models from China, which could steal some of Anthropic’s business.