Anthropic’s IPO Target Falls to About $1.33 Trillion

By Daniel Okafor

Anthropic is targeting a valuation of about $1.33 trillion for its initial public offering, according to The Wall Street Journal. The Claude maker now prices the deal below the $1.5 trillion investors expected as recently as last week. It also trails the roughly $2 trillion floated a few months ago.

The Wall Street Journal reported that last week's AI selloff rattled major investors. Those investors pushed for a lower number. Anthropic responded with a target hundreds of billions of dollars below earlier discussions. The reset changes the price, not the scale of the founder windfall.

Seven founders, including CEO Dario Amodei and his sister, President Daniela Amodei, will each sell about $250 million of stock. Each will also retain a stake worth around $18 billion, according to The Wall Street Journal.

What changed in Anthropic's IPO target?

The sequence of numbers matters. Anthropic discussed roughly $2 trillion a few months ago. Investors expected $1.5 trillion only last week, according to The Wall Street Journal. The new target sits at about $1.33 trillion.

The Wall Street Journal attributed the change to last week's AI selloff, which rattled major investors. They used that leverage to push for a lower price. The target moved before any shares begin trading.

The move shows how quickly Anthropic's valuation reset when major buyers pushed back: about $2 trillion a few months ago, $1.5 trillion last week, and $1.33 trillion now.

How large is the offering?

Anthropic plans to sell 825 million shares at $70 to $78 apiece, according to The Wall Street Journal. The offering would raise more than $61 billion at the midpoint. Investors, including Google and AMD, are adding another $26 billion on top of that.

The Wall Street Journal reported a financing package that pairs an 825 million-share sale at $70 to $78 with $26 billion from investors, including Google and AMD, ahead of a Nasdaq listing.

Shares are expected to begin trading on Nasdaq next Thursday under the ticker “ANT,” according to The Wall Street Journal. That leaves little room between the price reset and the first public trade. The schedule puts the revised terms in front of the market almost immediately.

The two components work together. The share sale sets the offering price and produces more than $61 billion at the midpoint. The additional $26 billion comes from investors, according to The Wall Street Journal.

How much will the founders pocket?

Seven founders will sell about $250 million of stock each, according to The Wall Street Journal. Dario Amodei and Daniela Amodei sit among that group. The siblings also serve as CEO and president, respectively.

After those sales, each founder still holds a stake worth around $18 billion, according to The Wall Street Journal. Together, the seven own about 22% of Anthropic. The reported figures leave the founding group with a lower valuation and a large retained economic position.

Dario Amodei, Daniela Amodei and the other five founders would each sell about $250 million while retaining holdings valued at roughly $18 billion, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The founder payout depends on the IPO price. At about $1.33 trillion, those retained stakes carry less value than a $2 trillion scenario would imply. It does not remove their ownership.

How does the LLC preserve founder control?

The seven founders control an LLC that locks in 50.1% of most shareholder votes, according to The Wall Street Journal. Their equity stake totals about 22%. The structure separates economic ownership from voting power.

In practical terms, the LLC keeps decisive control with the founding group even after Anthropic sells 825 million shares to the public, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The IPO tests two questions for investors: whether the public will pay $70 to $78 per share, and whether the founders can take cash without surrendering control. The first answer arrives next Thursday, when “ANT” opens on Nasdaq and the revised $1.33 trillion valuation faces its first public trading test.