Anthropic’s nearly US$70 billion IPO plan briefly circulated to banks, then retracted
The original email showed Anthropic planned to sell 866.7 million Class A shares, including a secondary offering
Anthem’s plans for a massive IPO, valued at nearly US$70 billion, were briefly shared with banks before being withdrawn on Monday, according to documents reviewed by Reuters. Anthropic, the artificial intelligence company, had intended to sell approximately 867 million shares at a price between US$70 and US$80 each. However, the company later clarified that the pricing details were incorrect and promised to update the filing later.
The email did not specify the exact error to the banks, and Reuters was unable to pinpoint the mistake. The original plan included Anthropic selling 843.3 million shares directly, while existing shareholders would sell an additional 23.3 million shares. The IPO was projected to raise US$69.3 billion at the upper end of the price range.
Furthermore, the company had secured US$26 billion in investments from major tech firms such as Google, Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices, Broadcom, Micron Technology, Microsoft, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) as part of the IPO. This infusion of capital highlights the deepening financial connections in the AI sector.
The company's roadshow, which would involve presenting the investment opportunity to potential investors, is scheduled to begin on Tuesday, with pricing details expected to follow in the subsequent week. The AI infrastructure and data center sectors have seen a wave of delays and cancellations as rising interest rates have caused a sharp decline in the stock prices and bonds of AI operators like CoreWeave, as well as broader concerns about the sustainability of AI investment.
Initial market expectations for Anthropic's valuation reached as high as US$2 trillion, but recent assessments have settled on a maximum valuation of approximately US$1.5 trillion. Anthropic was founded in 2021 by former OpenAI executives, including the company's current CEO, Sam Altman, and his sister, Daniela Amodei, who serves as Anthropic's president.
The company has gained significant traction in the generative AI field, particularly through its Claude series of models. Its growth has largely been fueled by partnerships with tech giants Google and Amazon, which are not only investors but also provide computational resources and distribution services. These partnerships account for nearly US$900 billion in computing commitments for Anthropic, underscoring the company's heavy reliance on future capacity and financing.
Despite a sharp decline in Anthropic's quarterly growth rate, the company reported nearly US$17 billion in revenue for the three months ended September 30.
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