Anthropic’s $62.5 Billion IPO Is Already Oversubscribed

Anthropic plans to raise up to $62.5 billion in an IPO that Bloomberg reported was already multiple times oversubscribed.

The Claude maker began its roadshow Tuesday and could launch the offering as soon as next Thursday, Bloomberg reported. Anthropic said its declared price range implies a fully diluted valuation of about $1.4 trillion. Bloomberg said the deal remains on track for one of the biggest IPOs ever, though the valuation trails what some investors wanted.

What do the IPO terms signal?

Anthropic said on Tuesday it would seek as much as $62.5 billion, based on its declared IPO price range. The company also said it plans to raise $26 billion from technology firms, including Nvidia and Micron Technology. Anthropic revealed an option for underwriters to purchase an additional tranche of shares.

The financing mix has three parts: public demand, a $26 billion technology-firm raise and an underwriter option for more shares. The $26 billion strategic tranche equals less than half of the $62.5 billion target, making the named technology firms material to the IPO.

Demand and valuation can move separately. The $1.4 trillion valuation falls below what some investors initially wanted, Bloomberg said, but that gap has not stopped the reported orders. The mechanism is straightforward: valuation sets the deal’s price, while oversubscription measures demand for the shares available at that price.

Morningstar analyst Malik Khan called Anthropic undervalued. His note said the deal was being priced amid high market volatility and a general souring on the AI trade.

How strong is the demand?

Bloomberg reported that the IPO was multiple times oversubscribed, driven by “anchor-size” indications of interest.

Radio Free Mobile analyst Richard Windsor wrote in a note to clients:

“Anthropic is going through the last stages of the IPO process, and despite the recent sell-off, a change in the political climate and a potential slowdown in the rollout of data centers, there is still plenty of appetite for a fast-growing and risky asset.”

The quote identifies both sides of the setup: fast growth supports demand, while political, infrastructure and market risks explain the caution.

How does OpenAI’s IPO path compare?

MarketWatch reported that OpenAI has raised an initial $11 billion as part of a fundraising round that values the ChatGPT maker at $1.25 trillion. That private-round valuation is separate from the company’s future IPO price. OpenAI president Greg Brockman said at a Wall Street Journal conference last week that the company will be IPO ready in 2027.

“We’ve been very clear this year that we want to go public when we feel is the right time for us, and I feel extremely good about the business.”

MarketWatch said OpenAI remains somewhat behind Anthropic, which was created after CEO Dario Amodei and several other leaders left OpenAI. The report cited Anthropic’s lead in the U.S. enterprise market and said Anthropic’s best models top AI leaderboards.

What do the latest operating numbers show?

OpenAI told investors on Tuesday that revenue grew by about 50% to $10 billion from the second quarter to the third quarter, the Wall Street Journal reported. The company posted an adjusted operating loss of $10.9 billion, compared with $10.1 billion in the prior quarter. The Wall Street Journal also reported roughly 100 million users paying for ChatGPT.

OpenAI did not immediately respond to a MarketWatch request for comment.

Anthropic reported sales of $16.9 billion for the September quarter, up 46% from $11.5 billion a quarter earlier, according to its IPO paperwork. The filing showed a third-quarter operating loss of $567 million, compared with operating income of $974 million in the second quarter.

On the headline revenue comparison, Anthropic’s September-quarter sales exceeded OpenAI’s $10 billion third-quarter revenue. Both companies still reported losses, according to the Wall Street Journal and Anthropic’s IPO paperwork. The loss labels also differ: OpenAI reported an adjusted operating loss, while Anthropic reported an operating loss.

Bloomberg’s reported demand gives Anthropic a strong start. The next test comes next Thursday: whether multiple-times oversubscribed demand can support a $1.4 trillion valuation after Anthropic reported a $567 million operating loss.