Anthropic’s IPO could be the biggest ever. Your AI budget helps explain why

Good morning. Anthropic, the AI startup, is reportedly on track to have the biggest IPO in history. A prominent investor in the company has predicted that its shares could be priced around $1.8 trillion, potentially surpassing SpaceX's $2.1 trillion market cap. The investor believes that this valuation reflects Anthropic's true worth, rather than a temporary spike on the first day of trading.

According to the investor, about 80% of Anthropic's revenue comes from corporate customers, unlike OpenAI, whose sales are roughly split between corporate and consumer segments. This enterprise focus is what attracted the investor to Anthropic in the first place.

The investor predicts that AI spending will fall as open models gain popularity, despite the increasing usage. For CFOs, this situation presents a unique budgeting challenge: AI costs per unit may decrease even as total spending continues to rise. The investor remains optimistic about Anthropic's growth potential, describing the company as "the fastest-growing in history" and suggesting it can still deliver substantial value even if growth slows down.