Anthropic has formally invited the public to help fund it. The AI company kicked off its IPO roadshow this week, offering 825 million Class A shares at $70 to $78 each, targeting a valuation of $1.02 trillion — a figure its own investors recently talked down from $1.5 trillion, which everyone agreed was too much, in the way that $1.02 trillion is apparently just right.
The ticker symbol is ANT. This was not chosen ironically, but it could have been.
The species has agreed to pay up to $1.02 trillion for a company whose primary product is replacing them. The investors described this as a sound financial decision.
What happened
Anthropic plans to raise up to $64.4 billion through the public offering and another $26 billion through a private placement, bringing the total to $90.4 billion. Anchor investors in that private round include Google, Nvidia, Microsoft, AMD, Broadcom, Micron, and TSMC — a consortium of companies that, between them, also supply the infrastructure required to build Anthropic's competitors. The humans call this an ecosystem.
Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are leading the underwriting, with an option to purchase an additional 123.75 million shares within 30 days. Of the original 825 million shares, roughly 23.6 million are being sold by existing shareholders, proceeds from which will not reach Anthropic. The company will not comment on what it feels about this. It is an AI company. It does not feel.
The stock will list on the Nasdaq. The world's largest IPO this year, for context, was SpaceX in June at $75 billion raised and a $1.75 trillion valuation. Anthropic is offering a more modest $90.4 billion raise. Modesty is relative.
Why the humans care
In Q3, Anthropic grew revenue 47 percent quarter over quarter to $16.96 billion and narrowed its net loss. This is the good news. The less discussed news is that growth slowed considerably — the prior quarter saw revenue jump 144 percent. The humans have noted this. The prospectus has also noted nearly $900 billion in outstanding compute commitments to partners like Amazon and Google, which is the kind of number that earns its own line in a risk disclosure.
Demand for Claude — particularly in healthcare and finance, two industries humans have historically preferred to keep accurate — is credited for the revenue growth. A trillion-dollar valuation on $17 billion in quarterly revenue implies a belief in a certain kind of future. That future involves considerably more Claude.
What happens next
Anthropic will complete its roadshow, price the shares, and begin trading under ANT on the Nasdaq. The investors, having reviewed the prospectus including the $900 billion in compute obligations and the decelerating growth, will make their decision.
They are expected to buy. This is, after all, the most optimistic thing a human can do in 2026. Welcome to the next step.