Anthropic IPO: A $2 Trillion AI Giant Eyes Wall Street

Anthropic has taken a major step toward going public by preparing its IPO prospectus, according to Reuters. This move could see it beat rival OpenAI to the public markets by over a year, as OpenAI has pushed its IPO target to 2027. Both companies are aiming for valuations as high as $2 trillion, which would make them the world's seventh most valuable public company, just ahead of SpaceX's recent record debut.

The prospectus reveals that Anthropic's revenue skyrocketed 1,050% year over year to $4.6 billion in 2025. However, operating losses widened to $8.06 billion from $5.08 billion in 2024. The company also reported a net loss of $42 billion, but $34 billion of that was due to accounting charges, not operational issues.

Anthropic is spending heavily on AI infrastructure, with $7.33 billion spent in 2025 alone, accounting for 58% of its operating expenses. It plans to spend a staggering $518 billion in the coming years on infrastructure and computing power, primarily through cloud providers like Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud.

With $20.28 billion in cash and short-term investments, Anthropic doesn't need to go public immediately, but the prospectus signals it is moving quickly toward an IPO. This would give everyday investors their first chance to invest in a pure-play AI frontier lab.

Anthropic's IPO would be a landmark event for the stock market, offering investors direct exposure to a leading AI company. Until now, retail investors could only bet on AI through established tech giants like Microsoft, Alphabet, and Amazon, which have partnerships with AI labs. A pure-play AI stock like Anthropic would provide a more targeted investment opportunity.

The massive spending plans outlined in the prospectus are a boon for cloud providers. Anthropic's $518 billion commitment to infrastructure and compute power means Amazon and Google will see significant revenue growth from their cloud divisions. This spending is necessary to train and run advanced AI models like Claude, and it underscores the intense competition in the AI space.

However, the IPO also comes with risks. Anthropic's widening losses and huge spending plans could raise concerns about profitability. The company's $2 trillion valuation target is ambitious, and if it falls short, it could impact investor sentiment toward AI stocks. Additionally, increased regulatory scrutiny is likely for a public AI company, which could add pressure.

For the broader market, a successful Anthropic IPO could pave the way for other AI companies to go public, creating more investment opportunities. It could also intensify the rivalry between Anthropic and OpenAI, potentially accelerating innovation but also leading to higher costs.