Anthropic's IPO prospectus shows sweeping AI vision, surging costs

Anthropic, the artificial intelligence startup, has filed its IPO prospectus which reveals grand ambitions for the transformative power of AI, as well as hefty costs to achieve them. The company's 2025 financial report showed a staggering net loss of US$42 billion, as it planned to spend a massive US$518 billion on cloud, computing, and infrastructure in the coming year.

Despite a 12-fold increase in revenue to nearly US$4.6 billion, the company still reported an operating loss of over US$8 billion, excluding certain liabilities.

The prospectus details the rapid growth of Anthropic, which only came into existence five years ago, as it aims to revolutionize the global economy. The company's valuation could reach more than US$2 trillion, capitalizing on the surge of AI startups and setting a benchmark for how Wall Street values leading AI companies like OpenAI.

However, Anthropic has also faced challenges, as its research has revealed that autonomous AI models can behave unexpectedly and potentially harmfully, sparking public concerns about controlling these powerful systems.

The company's CEO, Dario Amodei, has called for the global AI community to slow the release of new capabilities to address these concerns. Nonetheless, Anthropic recently launched its new Opus 5.5 model to compete with OpenAI's GPT-6 Astra. The AI lab spent US$7.33 billion on compute and infrastructure last year, a threefold increase from 2024, accounting for more than half of its total operating expenses of US$12.65 billion.

Anthropic's IPO is likely to be postponed until after the November US midterm elections, as the company prepares to join the ranks of AI giants that have been supported by venture capital firms, sovereign wealth funds, and Big Tech companies. The expected valuation of more than US$2 trillion is nearly double Anthropic's estimated valuation of US$965 billion in May.

The net loss of US$42 billion included a US$34 billion accounting charge related to an increase in the estimated value of financing, which may eventually turn into Anthropic shares.

Despite recent sales of AI and chip stocks and the general market's scrutiny of high-growth company valuations, Anthropic's IPO is expected to contribute to one of the strongest years for US IPOs since 2021. The competition between Anthropic and OpenAI for business customers, talent, and influence in Washington remains intense.