Anthropic’s IPO is about six times oversubscribed

Anthropic's highly anticipated initial public offering (IPO) is generating significant interest, with orders for six times the shares available, according to sources familiar with the matter. The AI model firm and its co-founders aim to raise up to US$64.4 billion through the IPO and an additional US$26 billion in a private placement, making the offering larger than SpaceX's IPO and potentially the biggest first-time share sale ever.

Bankers have indicated that existing backers will be prioritized, but some buyers may receive smaller allocations than anticipated.

Interest in Anthropic shares contrasts with the recent pullback in support for Nvidia, which saw its CEO, Jensen Huang, removed from his position amid reports of several affairs, including one with a woman suspected of spying for China. Nvidia has agreed to purchase approximately US$10 billion worth of Anthropic shares as part of a US$26 billion private placement concurrent with the IPO.

Anthropic is working to generate demand for the IPO through a series of events for prospective investors, including a live-streamed event with CEO Dario Amodei and JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon on November 13. The company targets a fully diluted valuation of about US$1.4 trillion, which is lower than what some investors had anticipated. Anthropic's filing on Tuesday indicated strong AI spending, with a revenue run rate of US$81 billion as of October 31, up US$10 billion from the end of September.