Anthropic files for potentially the biggest IPO ever as CEO warns of
risk to humanity from AI
[October 27, 2026] By
BARBARA ORTUTAY and BERNARD CONDON
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Artificial intelligence giant Anthropic filed
paperwork Monday for what could be the biggest initial public offering
of stock ever, even as its top executive warns that advanced AI could
pose an existential threat to humanity.
The filing sets up the San Francisco company for a Wall Street debut
next month, potentially eclipsing the record $86 billion raised by
SpaceX in its initial public offering in June. An Anthropic IPO would
also put the company ahead of OpenAI in going public, setting the stage
for a pair of blockbuster stock debuts by rival AI developers.
An IPO could give Anthropic enormous resources to accelerate its
expansion. The amount the company ultimately raises remains uncertain,
as do its final valuation and offering price. But even at lower
estimates, it would turn the five-year-old startup into one of the
world’s most valuable companies, potentially adding billions of dollars
to the fortunes of CEO Dario Amodei and his sister and co-founder,
Daniela.
The 335-page filing showed Anthropic’s revenue is growing rapidly,
reaching more than $16 billion in the first half of the year — 14 times
its revenue from the same period last year. But like many other tech
companies going public, the company behind the Claude chatbot has yet to
turn a profit.
Despite the losses, Anthropic, valued earlier this year at $965 billion
by private investors, is reportedly set to see that value rise to $1.5
trillion or possibly $2 trillion, although its final valuation has not
been established. At $1.5 trillion, Anthropic would rank among the
world’s most valuable public companies, alongside Tesla.
As for money raised, the offering could bring in as much as $100
billion, according to reports, surpassing the record set by SpaceX.
In a regulatory filing, Anthropic said it will list its stock on the
Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker symbol "ANT."
A Wall Street debut is planned in a jittery market
In the filing, the company said it could use some of that money on
acquiring other businesses and technology as well as investing in
infrastructure to grow its business to take on rivals.
Formed in 2021 by former OpenAI leaders, Anthropic is locked in a fight
for dominance with that company. But they have plenty of other
competitors, including Google, newer startups in the U.S. and China and
SpaceX, which has an AI business. Anthropic, OpenAI and SpaceX’s AI
division have all been losing more money than they make because of the
huge costs of resources in building AI, fueling concerns of a bubble.
The need for cash may explain why Anthropic is rushing to tap public
markets this year, and not waiting until next year, as is OpenAI's plan.
Adding to the pressure is the possibility demand for AI shares could
drop, or even collapse. Investors have become jittery about the massive
financing needs of the sector, and several tech companies have pulled
IPO plans recently.
David Hsu, a management professor at the University of Pennsylvania,
said he sees the filing more as a move to diversify the company’s
financial base.
“Obviously, they feel great, or at least good enough, on the safety
aspects relative to OpenAI, and so that puts them in a position to
really stay on track now to go public (first),” Hsu said.
In addition to helping plug any cash shortfall, the IPO will shower
extraordinary wealth on Anthropic’s seven founders, including Amodei and
his sister. The filing didn't directly state their ownership stakes, but
other figures disclosed suggest each will end up with 1.4% of the
company, a windfall of as much as $28 billion a person should the
company go public at the top expected value.
Risks aplenty, but a big payoff to the founders
Dario, 43, and 39-year-old Daniela, who is Anthropic's president, are
already worth $15.5 billion each, according to Forbes, which ranks them
as the 176th and 177th richest in the world.
[to top of second column] |
 Anthropic reported a net loss of
$80.7 billion in the first half of 2026, although that included a
one-time, $72.4 billion charge for an accounting adjustment related
to financing agreements, according to the filing. In the same period
a year ago, Anthropic lost $13 billion.
The document includes some unusual provisions, including granting
those two and their five other co-founders 50.1% of shareholder
votes through a special class of shares. Anthropic also has
appointed independent, financially disinterested members of a
so-called Long-Term Benefit Trust, holding power to appoint
directors, that is designed to ensure the company doesn’t put
financial interests ahead of public safety.
Another unusual feature of the filing is its long list of “risk
factors," a required disclosure for every public company but in this
case one that runs nearly 100 pages — and makes for riveting
reading.
Among the risks are the quotidian — the possibility it won't be able
to retain key staff or navigate regulatory roadblocks — and the
horrific. The latter includes the prospect of “malicious actors”
using AI models to build chemical weapons, authoritarian rulers
turning to the technology to crack down on their citizens and the
possibility that its AI models could go rogue and “pose catastrophic
or existential risks to humanity.”
Calls for an AI slowdown
Anthropic and other leading companies have touted the technology's
potential to cure diseases and speed economic growth. But it also
threatens major disruptions to jobs by reducing the need for human
labor.
A string of hacking incidents by rogue AI agents also has raised
fears the technology will slip free of human control to carry out
harmful, life-threatening tasks.
In September, Amodei said the AI industry should slow its
fast-moving development to give safety measures time to catch up.
Without such a slowdown, Amodei warned AI could be capable of
letting loose a swarm of agents that could take over the entire
internet within six to 12 months.
He offered a plan in a post on his website to increase checks on the
industry, noting that Anthropic is already undertaking part of this
on its own. As for other steps, though, he said that would require
coordination across the industry and with governments around the
world, including authoritarian ones.
Clashes with the U.S. government
Anthropic has tried to set itself apart from other AI companies as
the “good guys,” focusing on safety and responsible development as
opposed to growing at all costs. Some of this sentiment stems from
the company’s dispute with the U.S. government, which broke out in
February when the Trump administration accused Anthropic of
endangering national security and designated the company a supply
chain risk.
Anthropic sued the Pentagon in March for what it called an “unlawful
campaign of retaliation” over its refusal to allow unrestricted
military use of its technology. The legal challenge intensified a
dispute over how AI can be used in warfare and mass surveillance.
ChatGPT maker OpenAI made its own deal to work with the Pentagon
hours after the government punished Anthropic for its stance.
Anthropic also filed a separate and narrower case involving a
different rule the Pentagon is using to try to declare Anthropic a
supply chain risk.
A California judge ruled in Anthropic’s favor in the first case and
a Washington, D.C. judge sided with the government in the second.
Both sides are appealing the decisions.
——
Bernard Condon reported from New York. Associated Press writer
Kaitlyn Huamani contributed from Los Angeles.
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