Anthropic's $69.3 Billion IPO Filing Withdrawn Over Pricing Error

Anthropic, the artificial intelligence company behind the Claude family of models, briefly revealed details of a proposed initial public offering (IPO) that could raise up to $69.3 billion, according to a securities filing circulated to banks on Monday. The company quickly withdrew the information, stating that the pricing details were inaccurate.

The retracted filing showed plans to offer approximately 866.7 million Class A shares at a price range of $70 to $80 per share. Anthropic itself intended to sell about 843.3 million shares, while existing shareholders would offer another 23.3 million shares through a secondary sale. At the upper end of the range, the offering would have raised $69.3 billion. An Anthropic representative later emailed banks to disregard the pricing information and promised an updated filing, without clarifying which details were incorrect.

The document also outlined a separate $26 billion private placement involving some of the world's largest technology companies. Alphabet's Google, Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices, Broadcom, Micron Technology, Microsoft, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company had agreed to purchase Anthropic's Class N common stock at the IPO price. The private placement was expected to close immediately after the public offering.

Anthropic is expected to formally begin its IPO roadshow on Tuesday, with the offering scheduled to be priced the following week. However, the company has yet to clarify the inaccuracies in the information circulated to bankers.

The proposed listing comes amid a challenging environment for AI infrastructure and data center companies, many of which have delayed or withdrawn planned public offerings. Rising interest rates have contributed to a sharp selloff in shares and bonds of AI infrastructure companies, including CoreWeave, while investors have increasingly questioned the sustainability of spending across the sector. Investors had previously discussed a potential valuation of up to $2 trillion for Anthropic, but expectations have since moderated, with $1.5 trillion now viewed as the upper end of the valuation range, according to Reuters.

Founded in 2021 by former OpenAI executives, including CEO Dario Amodei and his sister Daniela Amodei, who serves as president, Anthropic has become a leading developer of generative artificial intelligence. The company's expansion has been supported by major technology companies, particularly Google and Amazon, which serve as investors, computing infrastructure providers, and distribution partners while also competing in the AI market. Anthropic has nearly $900 billion in computing commitments with partners, including Amazon and Google, highlighting the enormous infrastructure requirements behind its growth. Despite rapid expansion, Anthropic's quarterly growth rate has slowed sharply; the company disclosed revenue of nearly $17 billion for the three months ended September 30 in an amended filing earlier this month.