Anthropic files for potentially record-breaking IPO

Anthropic, a major artificial intelligence company, has filed paperwork to sell shares to the public in what could become the largest initial public offering (IPO) in history.

The company plans to go public on Nasdaq. Its IPO could be bigger than SpaceX's $86 billion IPO, with reports saying Anthropic could raise as much as $100 billion.

Why this matters: Former OpenAI leaders started Anthropic. The company is based in San Francisco and is a major competitor to OpenAI. It also competes with other big technology companies, including Google and AI projects at SpaceX.

• Anthropic made more than $16 billion in revenue in the first half of the year. That was 14 times its revenue in the same period last year. However, the company is still losing money overall.
• Private investors valued Anthropic at $965 billion earlier in 2026. Its IPO could raise that value to between $1.5 trillion and $2 trillion, making it one of the most valuable publicly traded companies in the world.

What to watch: The IPO could make Anthropic's seven founders extremely wealthy. CEO Dario Amodei and his sister, co-founder Daniela Amodei, could each own shares worth as much as $28 billion if the company reaches the highest expected valuation.

A closer look: Anthropic reported a net loss of $80.7 billion in the first half of 2026. Much of this loss came from a large, one-time financial charge.

• The IPO filing includes some unusual features. One type of share would give the founders control over most voting decisions. The company also plans to create a Long-Term Benefit Trust to make sure public safety remains a priority.
• Nearly 100 pages of the IPO filing discuss risks. These include concerns that advanced AI could be used to make weapons or carry out surveillance. The filing also warns that AI could create "catastrophic or existential risks to humanity," meaning dangers that could cause massive harm or threaten humanity's survival.
• CEO Dario Amodei has called for slowing the development of powerful AI systems so safety measures have time to catch up. He has warned that, if progress continues without enough controls, AI could become uncontrollable within a year.