Anthropic retracts $69bn IPO plans after sending inaccurate figures to banks

Anthropic, the developer behind the Claude AI, has announced the withdrawal of pricing details for its highly anticipated $69.3 billion IPO, after initially claiming the figures were accurate. The company disclosed plans to sell approximately 867 million shares at a price range of $70 to $80 each, but later issued a correction via email, stating that the initial pricing information was incorrect. Anthropic has not specified which figures were inaccurate or provided a comment on the matter.

The original filing showed that Anthropic intended to sell around 843 million shares, with existing shareholders contributing an additional 23 million. It also highlighted $26 billion in investment commitments from prominent technology firms, such as Google, Nvidia, Microsoft, AMD, Broadcom, Micron, and TSMC, which would participate in a private placement alongside the IPO. These companies are scheduled to list their shares on Tuesday, with pricing expected to be determined the following week.

The valuation of Anthropic has come under scrutiny amid recent volatility in the technology sector, with the Nasdaq experiencing a significant sell-off, resulting in a loss of around $2.5 trillion. Analysts have suggested that the company's previously anticipated valuation of $1.5 trillion may need to be adjusted downward to attract potential investors. Morningstar has estimated Anthropic's fair value at approximately $1.7 trillion, with forecasts ranging from $500 billion to $3 trillion based on the rate of AI adoption.