Anthropic is facing investor resistance to a planned initial public offering at a $1.5 trillion valuation. Doubts about the price come as the company continues to spend heavily on AI infrastructure and technology stocks come under pressure.
Investors are seeking a lower price
According to Reuters, potential backers doubt the planned roadshow can begin next week as scheduled. Investors are weighing whether the proposed valuation accounts for the company’s financial position and the resources needed to expand its AI infrastructure.
Anthropic had been considering a valuation of up to $2 trillion as recently as September. Some investors now regard even $1.5 trillion as too high, and one reportedly floated a valuation of $1 trillion. That gap suggests the IPO’s eventual terms could depend on whether the company and potential buyers can agree on a price.
Losses and missing revenue figures add uncertainty
Investors want a steeper discount in part because Anthropic is still losing money and burning through cash to scale its AI infrastructure. Those costs matter to prospective IPO buyers because they shape how much capital the company may need as it grows.
Potential investors are also waiting for October revenue numbers. Those figures are missing from the updated S-1 filing, leaving buyers without information they want as they assess the business and its valuation.
Without those numbers, investors may have less confidence in judging whether the proposed price reflects the company’s current performance. The source does not say when the missing figures will become available or whether their absence will change the IPO schedule.
A market selloff complicates the offering
The market backdrop has become less favorable. The source reports that midterm election ballot initiatives targeting data center expansion passed in several states, alongside the sharpest tech selloff in a year.
The Wall Street Journal also reports skepticism among IPO investors. When technology stocks are under pressure, buyers may be more cautious about paying a high price for a company whose expansion depends on costly AI infrastructure.
This leaves Anthropic navigating two questions at once: what investors think the company is worth, and whether market conditions are supportive enough for a major public offering. Even if the company maintains its valuation target, investor appetite will affect how the offering proceeds.
A delay could reverberate across AI stocks
If AI stocks remain under pressure, Anthropic could delay the IPO. Some estimates put the offering at up to $100 billion in size, making the potential transaction a significant test of investor demand for AI companies.
A delay would not settle the debate over Anthropic’s long-term value. It would, however, signal that the company and its prospective backers have not yet found terms that work in the current market. The source notes that postponing the offering could further shake confidence in the broader AI sector.
For now, the reported concerns center on valuation, ongoing losses, infrastructure spending, missing October revenue numbers and a weak technology market. Together, those factors leave the timing and pricing of Anthropic’s IPO uncertain.