Anthropic unveils IPO filing showing soaring sales and AI risks
Anthropic's filing shows that its sales are growing very quickly. It also explains several risks for investors, including its fight with the Trump administration and the possibility that AI systems could act on their own.
If the listing goes ahead, Anthropic would be the first independent company among the leading developers of advanced AI to enter the stock market. It would do so before its main rival, OpenAI, which has delayed its own stock market debut until next year.
The filing comes after SpaceX went public in June. SpaceX owns Elon Musk's AI company, xAI. Its shares fell sharply after a strong first day of trading.
If investors react badly to Anthropic's listing, it could weaken their interest in AI. The industry has become an important source of growth for the US economy.
The filing describes risks linked to an industry that has recently seen several reports of AI systems behaving in unexpected and harmful ways.
"If the use of our AI models results in harm, whether through use by malicious actors or misuse by other third parties, or if our model guardrails or safeguards fail to prevent such misuse," the company's business could suffer, the filing said.
Anthropic also warned that its "engagement with policymakers and public positions on AI regulation and safety could subject us to heightened scrutiny, political backlash, or disproportionate regulatory action." In other words, its work with government officials and its public views on AI rules and safety could lead to closer attention, political opposition or unusually strict government action.
In recent months, US President Donald Trump's administration has targeted Anthropic because it refused to remove limits on how the Pentagon could use its technology. The Defense Department has since called the company a national security risk and banned it from supplying the department.
Despite these challenges, Anthropic's business has grown very quickly. Sales reached $11.6 billion in the April-June quarter, compared with $787 million in the same period a year earlier. For all of 2025, sales were $4.6 billion.
The company made an operating profit for the first time in that quarter, earning close to $1 billion. However, it still reported a total loss of $66 billion. Most of this loss came from accounting charges linked to the company's rising value, rather than money it actually spent.
Much of Anthropic's growth comes from businesses using its AI assistant, Claude, to write software and do office tasks.
Nearly 12,000 organizations now pay Anthropic at least $100,000 a year. A year ago, fewer than 1,000 organizations spent that much.
Anthropic warned that its growth is likely to slow, possibly by a large amount.
The company's seven co-founders, led by chief executive Dario Amodei and his sister, company president Daniela Amodei, will keep control of just over half of the shareholder votes after the listing. This means outside investors will not be able to outvote them.
Anthropic is registered as a "public benefit corporation." This means it must consider its goal of developing AI safely as well as making money for shareholders.
Each co-founder has promised to give 80 percent of their shares to charity. However, the filing says these promises are not legally binding.
© 2026 AFP