Anthropic Delays IPO Marketing to Mid-October, Targets $2 Trillion Valuation

Anthropic has pushed back the start of its initial public offering marketing to no earlier than mid-October, with the listing expected to close just before the U.S. midterm elections in November, according to people familiar with the matter cited by Reuters. The company now plans to make its IPO prospectus public in late September, rather than as early as next week as previously anticipated, those people said, cautioning that the schedule remains subject to change.

The revised timeline delays what some investors have described as a potential $2 trillion listing, one of the largest IPOs ever attempted and a major test of public-market appetite for the rapidly growing artificial intelligence sector. Elon Musk’s SpaceX went public in June at a record $1.77 trillion valuation.

**Unusual Governance Structure Under Scrutiny**

Anthropic, like its rival OpenAI, has adopted an unconventional corporate governance framework. The company’s structure includes self-appointed “guardians” of its mission rather than traditional board directors with conventional fiduciary duties, according to a report from Ars Technica citing the Financial Times. Unlike OpenAI, whose board attempted to oust CEO Sam Altman in November 2023 — an event that led to a board overhaul and restructuring — Anthropic’s trust includes a “kill switch” that allows trustees to be fired with the support of 85 percent of shareholders’ voting power, a supermajority that could change upon going public, according to a person with knowledge of the structure.

A person close to Anthropic said private investors backed the company across multiple rounds with full understanding of its governance, with several specifically citing safety as part of their investment thesis. However, one venture capitalist who has backed Anthropic noted that early investors assumed the company would need to become a commercial juggernaut to fulfill its mission. “There was a judgment made by investors that capitalism would win in the end. Whatever you say, if you need a lot of money for compute and to compete [for the best model], investors assume there will be a business,” the person said.

Harvard’s Fried wrote in a July paper: “Under the firms’ current structures, these directors … may have little skin in the game and can or must ignore profit in decision-making. OpenAI has already had a … debacle. Anthropic, with a less risky structure, hasn’t. Investors should scrutinize both companies’ arrangements, which may still change before their IPOs, and price shares accordingly.”

**AMD’s Conditional $5 Billion Investment**

Advanced Micro Devices committed in late July to invest up to $5 billion in Anthropic in the future, subject to certain contingencies, with the money expected to go out through fiscal year 2028, according to AMD’s early August quarterly filing cited by The Motley Fool. The investment is tied to Anthropic’s agreement to deploy up to 2 gigawatts of AMD Instinct MI450 series GPUs, with the first gigawatt deployment set to begin in the first half of 2027.

For context, AMD held $1.7 billion of investments in private companies at the end of the second quarter, so the Anthropic commitment could nearly triple that. However, at Anthropic’s reported $2 trillion valuation, AMD’s up-to-$5 billion would buy no more than about half of 1% of the company. Alphabet agreed in April to invest up to $40 billion in Anthropic, with $10 billion immediate and $30 billion contingent on performance milestones, according to the same report.

**Revenue Forecast and Credit Facility**

Anthropic is forecasting revenue of about $190 billion to $200 billion in 2028, two people familiar with its financials told Reuters. That compares with a revenue run rate of $47 billion the company disclosed in May, and an annualized run rate that topped $30 billion in April and passed $65 billion by the end of July, according to The Information cited by The Motley Fool.

As part of IPO preparations, Anthropic is looking to finalize a $15 billion revolving credit facility, after which analysts from banks involved in the financing are expected to meet with the company, one person said. Bloomberg News earlier reported that Anthropic was in talks to expand the facility to that size. Companies typically leave several weeks between analyst meetings and the public release of an IPO prospectus, but Anthropic is expected to have a tighter window because analysts already know the company well, according to the source.

Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Citi are among the banks working with Anthropic on the IPO, according to people familiar with the matter.

**Potential Shift in Lockup Periods**

Anthropic may also adopt an unusual approach to insider share lockups, according to a report from The Information cited by The Motley Fool. Rather than the standard 180-day lockup period, Anthropic is reportedly considering allowing insiders to sell a portion of their shares immediately upon listing, with the remaining shares subject to a lockup period well beyond 180 days, likely until mid-2027. The plan would differ from SpaceX’s recent IPO, which released locked-up shares in tranches up to a year after listing.

The approach could allow insiders to profit from post-IPO euphoria while reducing stock volatility by releasing more shares into the market earlier, the report said. Companies are not required by law to impose lockup periods.

**Relations with Trump Administration Improve**

Anthropic’s IPO preparations come after a significant improvement in its relationship with the Trump administration, following months of friction over AI safety protocols and national defense boundaries. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick confirmed this week that the administration trusts Anthropic, according to an Axios interview cited by the Times of India. Asked whether he had confidence in Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, Lutnick said, “We trust Anthropic. They’ve done what we asked. They’re back on the right side. So the answer is: Yes.”

The comments mark a reversal from earlier this year, when tensions resulted in sweeping export restrictions targeting Anthropic’s most capable foundation models, the report said.

Anthropic declined to comment on the IPO timeline.