Anthropic's Planned $1.5 Trillion IPO Is in Doubt as AI Stock Rout and Investor Pushback Force Potential Valuation Cut or Delay
Anthropic, the AI safety company and ChatGPT rival founded in 2021 by former OpenAI researchers including Dario Amodei, is facing growing pressure to cut the $1.5 trillion (£1.1 trillion) valuation it had been seeking for what would potentially be the largest initial public offering (IPO) in history. The roadshow, which had been expected to kick off the week of 9 November with pricing anticipated the following week, is now in serious doubt. Three major potential investors told the Wall Street Journal they believe the valuation must come down, with one suggesting a figure closer to $1 trillion. Reuters separately reported that four people familiar with investor discussions said the company may need to offer a larger discount to secure commitments, citing a record of quarterly losses and substantial infrastructure commitments Anthropic has made to partners across the AI buildout. The pressure follows the sharpest technology stock sell-off in a year, triggered in part by the outcome of the US midterm elections, which wiped roughly $2.5 trillion from US tech stocks. The Nasdaq fell around 6% on the Thursday before publication. AI infrastructure companies including CoreWeave, Nebius, and Iren have each lost around half their market value over the past month. Anthropic reported revenue of more than in the first nine months of 2026, but sequential growth slowed between the second and third quarters. Its IPO prospectus disclosed more than in computing and infrastructure commitments extending into the next two decades. Investors are also awaiting the company's October revenue figure, which was left blank in an updated regulatory filing. Analysts note that a postponement would protect against near-term valuation risk but, if the market correction persists, could also fuel concern about the broader health of the AI ecosystem, given the stock market's heavy weighting toward large technology companies.