Anthropic IPO Valuation Could Fall Toward $1 Trillion After Tech Rout, Investors Say

Another investor raised the possibility that the Claude developer could postpone the listing altogether, the Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Reducing the amount of money raised is also an option. Anthropic's executives and advisers, who have avoided committing to specific plans throughout the IPO process, are expected to meet within days to discuss their next steps. The company did not immediately respond to requests for comment from AFP or PYMNTS.

The outcome matters well beyond one company. Anthropic has been aiming to list in the week of November 16 and had been expected to raise up to $100 billion, which would make it the largest IPO on record, ahead of the $86 billion SpaceX raised in June. Because Google, Amazon and Nvidia are both large shareholders and important business partners of the company, the reception of the deal is being treated by investors as a test of how much appetite remains for the sums flowing into AI. OpenAI has already pushed its own listing plans into next year.

The gap between a $1.5 trillion valuation and $1 trillion amounts to about $500 billion of paper value. Even the higher figure was a markdown. In recent months valuations of around $2 trillion had been discussed, and on Monday the Journal reported that some institutional investors wanted the company to aim nearer $1.5 trillion to $1.6 trillion, citing choppy markets, heavy exposure to AI bets, political opposition to data centres and uncertainty over when the largest cloud companies will show profits from AI. Anthropic's revenue growth has also slowed: reports put its third-quarter increase over the second quarter at between 45% and 47%, after sales more than doubled in the previous quarter.

Thursday's rout added to that pressure. Companies in the Nasdaq Composite lost $2.5 trillion in market value in a single session as the index fell 5.5%, its worst day since April 2025. Investors sold chipmakers, power producers, cloud providers and data centre developers on concern that Democratic gains in Tuesday's midterm elections will bring tighter scrutiny of AI and of data centre construction. Separately, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing four people familiar with investor discussions, that prospective buyers doubt Anthropic can start its roadshow next week and list in November, and that the company could wait for the turmoil to ease even if a price is agreed.

Anthropic is not short of cash, which gives it room to raise less or to wait. It reported $146.6 billion in cash and other liquid assets as of September 30, according to reports on its amended registration statement, which also showed spending commitments of $895.4 billion stretching to 2045. The company filed for the IPO on October 26 and amended the filing on November 2, without disclosing the size of the offering or a price range.

The next signal will be whether Anthropic launches its roadshow next week as planned, and at what price range, or whether its advisers decide to wait.