Anthropic targets up to $1.3tn valuation in upcoming Nasdaq listing

Anthropic, the artificial intelligence developer responsible for the Claude chatbot, is preparing to go public on New York's Nasdaq exchange with a projected valuation reaching up to $1.3 trillion.

The San Francisco-based company disclosed that it intends to price its shares between $70 and $78 apiece. Through the offering scheduled for later this month, the firm plans to raise as much as $64 billion, which would establish its market capitalization between $1.1 trillion and $1.3 trillion.

While the figure represents an immense sum for a five-year-old business, it falls short of earlier estimates. Some investors had anticipated a valuation of around $2 trillion during the summer, according to a report by the Financial Times. The anticipated valuation also trails Elon Musk's aerospace and AI venture SpaceX, which was valued near $1.8 trillion following its June market debut.

The public listing arrives during a turbulent period for the broader technology sector. The Nasdaq index dropped significantly following recent US midterm election results, driven by investor anxiety that a Democrat-controlled Congress might introduce policies that slow artificial intelligence rollouts and data infrastructure expansion. Market participants have also grown increasingly cautious about whether massive capital expenditure across the sector will generate commensurate returns.

Despite the broader market unease, Anthropic continues to post explosive top-line expansion alongside mounting financial losses. Filings for the six months ending in June show revenue surged to $16.2 billion, up from $1.1 billion during the corresponding timeframe a year earlier. At the same time, pre-tax losses expanded considerably, rising from $12.9 billion to $80.7 billion as the firm spent heavily to build and run its computing models.

Market analysts noted that targeting $64 billion under present market conditions signals substantial confidence from leadership. City Index senior market analyst Fiona Cincotta told Reuters that seeking such a substantial sum amid recent market swings reflects the company's belief that customer demand for artificial intelligence capabilities will persist over the long term.

Anthropic was established in 2021 by siblings Dario and Daniela Amodei alongside five other colleagues, all of whom previously worked at ChatGPT developer OpenAI. The debut will mark one of the most closely watched market tests for the generative AI industry to date.