Anthropic IPO puts Korean tech firms' early bets in spotlight - The Korea Herald

Anthropic plans to list its shares on the Nasdaq stock market. The listing could greatly increase the value of investments made by South Korean technology companies in the US artificial intelligence startup. SK Telecom could be one of the biggest winners.

Anthropic, which makes the Claude AI chatbot, filed paperwork for an initial public offering (IPO) with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday. The company aims to list on the Nasdaq under the stock symbol "ANT" as early as November.

Reports say Anthropic hopes to raise as much as $100 billion, with the company valued at up to $2 trillion. If successful, this could beat SpaceX's record IPO, which raised $75 billion in June. Anthropic's filing did not say how many shares it plans to sell or set a possible price range.

The listing would make Anthropic the first major developer of advanced AI models to become a publicly traded company. It would go public before OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT. The listing could also greatly increase the value of investments made by Korean companies.

SK Telecom is one of Anthropic's early investors and could benefit from the listing.

The telecommunications company invested $100 million in Anthropic in August 2023, when the startup was valued at $5 billion. The two companies also formed a strategic partnership. SK Telecom bought another 157,189 shares for about $100 million in the first half of this year.

By the end of June, SK Telecom's Anthropic investment was recorded in its books at 3.51 trillion won ($2.65 billion), up from 1.38 trillion won at the end of last year. If Anthropic reaches a $2 trillion valuation in its IPO, SK Telecom's stake could be worth an estimated 7.26 trillion won.

The partnership could bring SK Telecom new business opportunities as well as gains from its investment.

The two companies have worked together to develop a large language model designed for the telecommunications industry. Anthropic recently opened an office in Seoul, which could lead to closer cooperation in AI infrastructure and services for businesses.

SK Telecom has said it plans to keep its investment after Anthropic goes public instead of selling its shares to take profits.

"We will continue to strengthen our role in the global AI ecosystem as an AI infrastructure company through our partnership with Anthropic," an SK Telecom official told The Korea Herald.

SK Telecom CEO Jung Jai-hun shared a similar view at a news conference in Tokyo in June. He stressed that the company wanted to continue investing in and working with Anthropic rather than focus on making money from its stock market listing.

Naver and LG CNS could also benefit from their investments in Anthropic and their business relationships with the US AI company.

Naver invested about 10 billion won in Anthropic through an outside venture capital firm in the second half of last year. The investment was made through Naver Ventures, its US investment arm.

The South Korean internet company has since introduced Anthropic's Claude Code, an AI tool that helps people write computer code, across its development teams. It uses the tool alongside its own HyperClova X model as part of a plan to work with several AI models.

LG CNS invested in Anthropic through LG Technology Ventures in 2023. In June, the IT services company signed an agreement to use Claude Enterprise, Anthropic's AI platform for businesses, as it works to grow its business helping companies adopt AI.

Reports also say Samsung Electronics and SK hynix each invested at least 1 trillion won in Anthropic in May.

Industry experts see these investments as part of a wider effort by South Korean chipmakers to build AI partnerships beyond supplying semiconductors. They are also looking to work with AI software and AI agents, which can carry out tasks.

For these companies, Anthropic's stock market listing could bring benefits beyond investment profits. If the listing goes well, Anthropic could have more money to spend on AI infrastructure and expand its services for businesses. This could create new business opportunities for its Korean partners.

However, the size of any investment gains will depend on the final price of Anthropic's IPO and how its shares perform afterward. A higher company valuation does not automatically mean investors will make immediate profits, especially if they plan to keep their shares.