Anthropic files for massive IPO while warning its AI could pose ‘existential risks’

The Claude maker could seek a valuation of up to $2 trillion as its filing details potential dangers ranging from authoritarian misuse to catastrophic harm.

Anthropic is preparing to ask public investors for money on a scale Wall Street has never seen, and its paperwork includes a warning about the technology it sells.

The Associated Press reported that the San Francisco company filed Monday for an initial public offering expected next month, with shares set to trade on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker “ANT.”

Reports suggest the offering could raise up to $100 billion, which would top the $86 billion SpaceX brought in during its June debut. It would also put Anthropic on public markets ahead of rival OpenAI.

The 335-page filing shows explosive growth without profit. Revenue topped $16 billion in the first half of the year, 14 times the figure from the same period in 2025.

The company also reported an $80.7 billion net loss over that span, though $72.4 billion of it stemmed from a one-time accounting charge tied to financing agreements. A year earlier, losses stood at $13 billion.

Private investors valued Anthropic at $965 billion earlier this year. Reports indicate the public valuation could land between $1.5 trillion and $2 trillion, though no price has been set.

The most striking portion of the document is its risk section, which runs close to 100 pages. Alongside ordinary concerns like staff retention and regulation, it lists malicious actors using AI to develop chemical weapons, authoritarian governments using the technology against their own citizens, and the possibility that its models could “pose catastrophic or existential risks to humanity.”

That language echoes CEO Dario Amodei’s own public statements. In September he called on the industry to slow development so safety measures could keep pace.

The governance structure is unusual too. The seven co-founders, including Amodei, 43, and his sister Daniela, 39, the company’s president, would hold 50.1% of shareholder votes through a special share class.

A Long-Term Benefit Trust with power to appoint directors is meant to keep financial interests from outweighing public safety. Figures in the filing suggest each founder could hold about 1.4% of the company, worth up to $28 billion apiece at the highest valuation.

The listing arrives amid an ongoing legal fight with the Pentagon, which designated Anthropic a supply chain risk after it refused unrestricted military use of its technology. Courts have split on the two cases, and both are on appeal.

University of Pennsylvania professor David Hsu told the AP he views the filing largely as a way to broaden the company’s financial base.