Anthropic's Upcoming IPO is Buoying Markets After Steep Losses. Stocks Rebounded.
Stocks rose on Monday as investors bought shares at lower prices after several days of losses. The market also got a boost from Anthropic taking another step toward its planned IPO, or initial public offering, which is when a company first sells its shares to the public.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.29%, while the S&P 500 gained 0.70%. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite did even better, rising 0.82%.
Anthropic is asking investors to help pay for its artificial intelligence plans. At the same time, the company is warning that its technology could cause a disaster so costly that insurance might not cover all the damage.
The company that makes Claude shared these risks in documents released to the public on Monday as part of its planned IPO. The prospectus describes possible real-world harm from advanced AI, including AI systems trying to avoid being shut down. It also says that contracts meant to protect the company might not prevent it from being held legally responsible for damage.
Anthropic used 94 pages of its registration statement to explain possible risks. One warning said that a major AI disaster could cause so much damage that the company might not be able to buy enough insurance to cover it. The filing also said that the losses could be greater than a single insurance company could handle, and might even exceed what the entire insurance industry could cover.
These disclosures put AI safety concerns at the center of Anthropic's expected stock market debut. The company plans to list its shares on the Nasdaq stock exchange under the ticker symbol ANT. However, its first prospectus does not say how much the shares will cost.
Meanwhile, Microsoft has become the latest major company to cut its workforce as AI continues to grow. It is offering buyouts to tens of thousands of employees.
Microsoft said about 60,000 employees qualify for the buyout offer. These employees work in the United States, Canada, India and the United Kingdom, and have an experience level of 70 or lower.
Amy Coleman, Microsoft's executive vice president and chief people officer, said in a memo that the program "reflects an important part of how we're evolving our approach to change: creating greater flexibility and, where possible, more ways for employees to shape their next chapter."
"This builds on what we learned earlier this year through the Voluntary Retirement Program," she added. Employees who accept the offer must decide within the next few weeks. They will leave the company at the end of the year.
In international politics, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly urged President Donald Trump to attack Iran before elections in the countries. However, Trump has chosen to delay any action for now, according to another report.
"Netanyahu really wanted and tried to convince Trump for a joint attack in Iran before the elections, and Trump did not give a green light," an Israeli source told CNN.
Trump has not commented on the reported requests. But on Sunday, he said he was close to deciding whether to make a deal with Iran's government or "finish it off." He told Fox News, "Do I finish it off, which would be very easy to do, or do I make a deal? It's getting to be decision time."