Anthropic’s Confidential Filing Sets Stage for $1 Trillion Debut

Anthropic, the artificial intelligence giant responsible for Claude, has confidentially filed its initial public offering (IPO) prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Key details—such as the number of shares being offered or the terms—have not been shared with the public as federal regulators review the draft registration statement. Instead, the purpose is to provide the SEC with the official prospectus at least 15 days before Anthropic begins its public offering process.

“This gives us the option to go public after the SEC completes its review,” the company said in a June 1 statement. “The proposed initial public offering will depend on market conditions and other factors.”

Market watchers anticipate Anthropic debuting at a $1 trillion value. If investors become enamored with the AI firm, it would immediately make it one of the world’s largest companies, joining the ranks of Tesla, Amazon, and Meta.

Anthropic reported a value of $965 billion last month after raising another $65 billion, and it has become an AI darling over the past year.

In April, it captured attention from the private sector and the White House after releasing a model called Claude Mythos Preview. This is an advanced cybersecurity model that was unveiled to a small number of firms.

But Anthropic has been engaged in a dispute with the Trump administration, forcing defense contractors to drop the company to comply with a Department of War order. The tech giant sued the administration to reverse its blacklisting—litigation is ongoing—and President Donald Trump suggested in April that a deal is “possible.”

Businesses and consumers accelerated their adoption of Anthropic’s models and AI coding tool.

IPO Market Frenzy

This listing is the latest chapter in this summer’s IPO saga as investors brace for the initial public offerings of not only Anthropic but also OpenAI and SpaceX.

OpenAI is pursuing a $1 trillion valuation, while SpaceX is seeking a $2 trillion valuation.

The major indexes are making accommodations to list these names, and this could further fuel Wall Street’s rally, according to Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank.

“The good news for momentum investors is that today’s indices are increasingly adapting to accommodate these new-generation tech giants much faster than in the past—meaning they could continue fueling the frenzy once they become publicly traded, at least for a while,” Ozkardeskaya told The Epoch Times in an emailed note.

Since the sell-off in March, U.S. stocks have surged to record highs.

The broad-market S&P 500 recently topped 7,600, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index surpassed the 27,000 milestone. The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average also firmed above 51,000 to kick off the trading week.

For the past year, talk of an AI bubble has captured analysts’ attention. How investors welcome Anthropic and OpenAI could determine whether the AI rally still has legs or is winding down, said Paul Meeks, managing director and head of technology research at Freedom Capital Markets.

“I agree that we’re in an AI Bubble like that one, but I don’t expect it to pop so soon because I’m confident in continued aggressive infrastructure spending at least into 2028,” Meeks said in a note emailed to The Epoch Times.

Although Elon Musk’s SpaceX will soon capture the fanfare on the New York Stock Exchange, Anthropic will have the industry edge over the ChatGPT maker in the AI arms race.

Meeks said he believes that Anthropic, which was founded in 2021 after executives and researchers fled OpenAI, will captivate investors. Plus, OpenAI’s “shady corporate governance” might give traders pause before buying the stock, which might not bode well for the hyperscaler to satisfy demand.

“I’m particularly worried about OpenAI, since Anthropic has the business momentum and investor love,” he said. “The problem is that several AI infrastructure builders need OpenAI to spend on their gear. Without a big equity raise, will OpenAI be able to deliver?”

But it is not just the big three that are creating an IPO frenzy.

AI hardware firm Cerebras Systems began trading on the Nasdaq composite index last month under the ticker “CBRS.” The stock debuted at $350 per share, peaked at $386, and closed at $311. Shares have since fallen by more than 20 percent.

Other AI firms have been watching Cerebras and the wider IPO market.

Databricks, an AI and data infrastructure firm, is preparing for a second-half filing and could be one of the largest software IPOs of the decade.

However, web-based graphic design platform Canva delayed its initial public offering until 2027 as it makes an AI-driven pivot.