Anthropic Moves Closer to Mega-IPO as Bankers Line Up Investor Meetings

Artificial intelligence startup Anthropic is gearing up for a potential initial public offering (IPO) later this year, with bankers lining up investor meetings in advance of the share sale. According to an individual familiar with the plans, Anthropic’s IPO preparations are progressing rapidly as its advisors sound out demand from prospective investors before embarking on a formal roadshow.

The meetings suggest that Anthropic is moving closer to listing on public markets, which could happen as soon as October, although the exact timing remains uncertain. This would mark another significant milestone for the AI industry, following June’s massive SpaceX IPO and further opening up the public markets to companies at the forefront of the AI boom.

Anthropic confidentially filed its IPO prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Commission last month but has yet to disclose when it plans to debut on the stock market. The company was founded in 2021 by a group of executives and researchers who defected from OpenAI over concerns about the direction of their former employer, and has since found early success selling its AI assistants to enterprises.

Anthropic’s popular coding assistant, Claude Code, is one key factor behind its rapid growth, with the company closing a $65 billion funding round at a valuation of $965 billion in May. This puts it above OpenAI’s valuation for the first time and marks another significant milestone for the startup, which has been fueling the AI spending boom.

The involvement of top Wall Street banks Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and JPMorgan Chase in Anthropic’s IPO planning underscores their growing interest in the AI sector. The three firms are among the biggest on Wall Street by revenue, and their participation highlights the significant role that AI is playing in driving growth for financial institutions as they seek to satisfy investors clamoring for ways to fund or invest in this rapidly expanding theme.

Anthropic’s potential IPO would also mark a shift towards greater transparency and accountability within the industry. The company has been at the center of controversy over export controls on its technology, with the Trump administration recently lifting restrictions on certain products. However, it remains unclear how this will impact Anthropic’s future plans or operations.