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Anthropic IPO: What investors should know as leaked filing reveals huge AI costs and risks
Anthropic IPO plans reveal huge AI costs, key risks and a possible $2 trillion valuation. Here’s what investors should know before Claude maker goes public.
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Anthropic, the AI company behind Claude, is preparing for a possible initial public offering. New details about the IPO have emerged from a prospectus obtained by Reuters. The company is likely to launch its IPO after the US midterm elections in November.
Anthropic could seek a valuation of more than $2 trillion when it goes public. This would make the Claude maker one of the biggest AI companies to enter the public stock market.
One of the biggest things investors need to watch is Anthropic's financial position. Reuters reported that the company recorded a net loss of nearly $42 billion in 2025. At the same time, Anthropic expects to spend heavily on its AI infrastructure and computing capacity.
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The prospectus projects $518 billion in costs over the next few years. This means investors will need to look closely at whether Anthropic can eventually turn its rapid AI growth and spending into sustainable profits.
Anthropic still has not publicly filed the full S-1
Investors should not treat the leaked prospectus as the final set of IPO information. The next major document to watch is Anthropic's S-1 filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Also read: Anthropic IPO: Can its $2 trillion valuation survive a $42 billion loss and massive AI spending?
The SEC filing is expected to provide much more detailed information about the company's finances and the proposed stock offering. The SEC will release additional financial details in the S-1 at least 15 days before the company's roadshow, when it pitches the IPO to institutional investors. Depending on when Anthropic launches the IPO, the filing could still be weeks or months away.
Once Anthropic's S-1 becomes public, investors should be able to examine its revenue, losses, growth and major business risks. The filing should also provide more details about how Anthropic plans to use the money raised through the IPO. This information will be important because the reported valuation is extremely large compared with the company's reported losses and future spending plans.
Anthropic faces a major rival in OpenAI
Anthropic launched Claude in 2023, a few months after OpenAI launched ChatGPT. Since then, Claude has become a major alternative to ChatGPT. OpenAI is expected to wait until early 2027 before going public and is seeking a $1.5 trillion valuation in a funding round ahead of its IPO, according to the New York Times, as reported by Yahoo Finance. This means Anthropic could reach the public market before its biggest rival.
ChatGPT remained the leading AI platform by website visits in March 2026. It had about 50% of visits among leading AI platforms at that time. However, its share had fallen from 66% in July 2025, according to market intelligence firm Sensor Tower. Google Gemini had a 22% share in March 2026. Claude had about 10% of the market, according to Sensor Tower.
AI safety is one of the biggest risks mentioned in the prospectus
The prospectus reportedly warns that Anthropic's AI models could create a “catastrophic or existential risk to humanity.” It also says the models could potentially resist shutdown. These warnings are important for investors because AI safety risks could affect regulation, product development and the way Anthropic operates in the future.
Also read: Why are Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures wavering today? AI concerns, oil prices in focus
For investors, this means future AI regulation could become an important factor affecting Anthropic's business and product development.
Anthropic also faces customer concentration risk
Another important risk is that Anthropic does not have long-term contracts with all of its customers. This can make its income more unpredictable because customers may change how much they spend on its AI services.
The prospectus also reportedly showed that nearly 25% of Anthropic's 2025 revenue came from just two customers. A large share of revenue coming from a small number of customers can become a risk if one of those customers reduces spending or leaves.
Anthropic's possible $2 trillion-plus valuation is a key number to watch. Investors should also examine the reported nearly $42 billion 2025 net loss and the projected $518 billion in future costs. The final S-1 should provide more information to help investors understand how the company plans to manage its spending and grow its business.
Investors also need to consider Anthropic's reliance on a small number of major customers and the possibility of tighter AI regulation. The final IPO documents should give investors more information before Anthropic's shares begin public trading.
