Source: Anthropic has selected the Nasdaq for its potential IPO (Katie Roof/Business Insider)

Anthropic has chosen the Nasdaq for its potential IPO, according to sources familiar with the plans. The company aims for an October listing, which would be another significant victory for Nasdaq, following the successful SpaceX listing earlier this year. SpaceX was valued at $1.75 trillion, while estimates for Anthropic suggest a value of $2 trillion, though this figure is still being finalized.

The size of these IPOs and the scarcity of tech listings in recent years have made securing this competition particularly valuable for both companies. Anthropic intends to be recognized as a suitable venue for future AI IPOs. The timing is also crucial, as OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently stated that the company would not go public at the moment due to concerns over AI's potential existential threats.

This risk became more apparent last week following a viral tweet from a former Anthropic employee, warning of a human extinction risk exceeding 10%. Historically, the New York Stock Exchange has been the favored exchange for the largest IPOs, but this year has seen a notable shift towards Nasdaq, which has consistently excelled in tech IPOs and is a prerequisite for inclusion in the Nasdaq 100 Index.

While the decision regarding where Anthropic ultimately trades may not be significant, there is no clear evidence that companies perform better on one exchange over another. One notable distinction between the exchanges relates to market-maker mechanics, as they employ different processes for determining the opening price on the first day of trading.

High-volume IPOs may result in delays and confusion. Nasdaq encountered technical problems on the first day of Facebook's 2012 IPO. The Anthropic IPO filing has not been made public yet; however, the company will need to disclose its financials at least 15 days prior to initiating its investor road show.