Anthropic IPO filing to put AI investment boom to the test

Oct 26 (Reuters) - Anthropic made its U.S. initial public offering (IPO) filing public on Monday. This brings the company closer to what could be the first stock market listing by a leading AI research company. The filing explains the potential benefits, costs and risks of building AI that could change the global economy.

The IPO comes at a time when market ups and downs have reduced the number of companies planning to go public this fall. Higher borrowing costs have also made investors more worried about the AI investment boom, which relies heavily on borrowed money.

U.S. stock index futures rose briefly after the IPO filing became public, and Wall Street's main stock indexes opened higher.

COMMENTS:

JOSH STEVENS, CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER, CRESALTA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT, COLORADO

"I'm optimistic about AI as a technology, and Anthropic is certainly exciting. But are we going to rush in and buy at the IPO? No. Even great ideas and business models can see their share prices fall to attractive levels when investors rethink how much demand there is and how much supply is available. Then you have a chance to buy."

PETER ANDERSEN, FOUNDER OF ANDERSEN CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, BOSTON

"I think this is an important milestone in the development of artificial intelligence. The result of this IPO will give us a good idea of how willing investors are to keep supporting spending on AI development."

THOMAS HAYES, CHAIRMAN, GREAT HILL CAPITAL, NEW YORK

"If a business is generating $16 billion or $32 billion in annualized revenue but losing $80 billion to $160 billion a year, a $1.5 trillion valuation seems too high. This offering is for investors who believe they will eventually earn a return on the money they invest. The share price could rise because the company will control the supply of shares it issues. But over the long term, a company's true value depends on its financial results. Until Anthropic turns things around, which could take many years, investors will likely find better opportunities than buying at the initial public offering."

"If investors raise money to buy Anthropic shares by selling investments in the current big technology companies, including the so-called Magnificent Seven, that could put pressure on those stocks in the coming weeks. What happens will depend on the earnings reports from Microsoft, Alphabet and Amazon this week."

(Reporting by Niket Nishant, Tharuniyaa Lakshmi and Purvi Agarwal in Bengaluru; compiled by Medha Singh; editing by Devika Syamnath)