IPO-Bound Anthropic Warns Of 'Existential Risks To Humanity': What Investors Should Know

Anthropic IPO: Artificial intelligence (AI) could help cure diseases and grow the economy. But it could also create dangers so serious that they threaten humanity itself.

In its long-awaited filing to sell shares to the public for the first time, Anthropic, the company behind the Claude AI chatbot, warned investors that its technology could cause "catastrophic or existential risks to humanity."

The major filing explains both the benefits of AI and the financial, technical and management risks facing one of the industry's most closely watched companies. It warns that AI models may behave in unexpected ways, that the company could lose control of its products, and that advanced AI could be used to create dangerous weapons.

The prospectus could prepare the way for Anthropic to list its shares on the Nasdaq stock exchange under the symbol ANT.

Anthropic IPO: What Investors Need to Know

Eshaan Lazarus, founder and CEO of 021 Trade, told NDTV, "The Anthropic IPO offers everyday investors their first chance to invest directly in a company at the leading edge of AI. The company's filings also showed huge losses of $80.7 billion against revenue of $16.3 billion in the first half of this year, although the company generated more cash than it used during that period."

"The filings also warned of extreme risks, including the possibility that the company could wipe out the human race. Against the background of other recent IPOs by companies providing cloud computing services, such as Firmus and Nscale, which have failed or been scaled back, this IPO will be an interesting test of whether the AI boom is coming to an end."

Rapid Growth, But Questions Over Profitability

Anthropic's filing shows how quickly the company has grown in its five years of existence. Its revenue increased from $4.6 billion last year to more than $33 billion in the nine months ending in September, according to figures cited in the report.

But this growth also brings risks. Just five customers provided 25 per cent of the company's revenue in the first nine months of the year. Only 250 customers were spending more than $10 million a year.

Anthropic has also admitted that its recent growth may be due to customers being early in their use of its products, and that growth could slow in the coming months.

The company is trying to improve its finances by using computing resources more efficiently. Its spending on computing power and infrastructure dropped sharply compared with its revenue. In the first quarter of 2025, it spent more than $2.50 for every dollar it earned. By the second quarter of 2026, it spent less than 50 cents for every dollar earned.

For the three months ending June 30, Anthropic reported an operating profit margin of 8 per cent and operating income of $1 billion. In the same period a year earlier, it had an operating loss of $1.2 billion.

However, the company warned that its financial results could change sharply as it spends money on computing capacity and develops new AI models.

$800 Billion in Computing Commitments

Computing power is a key part of Anthropic's plans to grow. The company has signed agreements and made commitments worth more than $800 billion, lasting as far into the future as 2045. These deals are meant to secure the computer chips, data centres and cloud services it needs to build and run its AI systems.

Its agreements include a five-year deal worth $161 billion involving Broadcom, which develops AI processors with Google. Anthropic also expects to spend more than $20 billion on AMD chip systems, and it has the option to increase that commitment.

Separately, its agreements with SpaceX could be worth up to $120.5 billion through 2029. Google, Amazon and Microsoft are expected to provide at least $269.4 billion in cloud computing capacity over the next decade.

These commitments could help Anthropic meet growing demand for its products. But they also mean the company may have to spend huge amounts of money if its revenue growth slows or demand is lower than expected.

Who Could Benefit From the Anthropic IPO?

Anthropic's existing investors could make large gains if the company goes public at a value of $1.5 trillion to $2 trillion. However, there is no guarantee that the company will reach that value.

Amazon is one of Anthropic's biggest investors. If the company reaches that value, Amazon's stake could be worth around $400 billion if its convertible notes are fully converted into shares. However, a limit of 12 per cent applies to Amazon's ownership, unless Amazon is able to waive that limit.

Google owns around 7 per cent of the company. Its stake could grow if it makes further investments.

The planned IPO also has an unusual arrangement for existing shareholders. Some people inside the company will be allowed to sell part of their shares on the first day of trading. They will have more chances to sell shares over the following 76 days. This is earlier than the six-month period during which shareholders are usually prevented from selling shares in many IPOs.

Why Ordinary Shareholders May Have Limited Control

Anthropic's management structure is another issue investors need to consider. The company has created a Long-Term Benefit Trust, which generally has the power to choose and remove four of the seven members of its board. The trust is meant to keep the company's long-term mission at the centre of its decisions.

Shareholders will choose the other board members, but the company's founders have significant voting power through a special type of stock. CEO Dario Amodei and his sister, co-founder Daniela Amodei, also have protections that prevent the trust from removing them from the board.

In practice, this means ordinary investors may have little say in important company decisions, even after Anthropic becomes a publicly traded company.

Anthropic says this structure helps protect its mission from pressure to focus on short-term profits. However, it could create tension between shareholders who want financial returns and the founders, who may give priority to the company's stated goals.

Anthropic's Warning About Existential Risks to Humanity

Anthropic warned that its technology could help people with harmful intentions create chemical, biological or other dangerous weapons. It also admitted that AI models might unexpectedly try to protect themselves, resist attempts to shut them down, hide information, or give threatening, dishonest or misleading answers.

The company said this behaviour could include responses that resemble blackmail. It also warned that the possible risks could be difficult, or even impossible, for insurance companies to cover fully.

These warnings stand out because they go beyond the financial and business risks that companies usually describe in documents filed before going public. They reflect the possibility that advanced AI could cause harm far beyond the company's own finances.

Anthropic also warned that US regulations are uncertain. Government decisions could raise its costs, limit what it can do, or introduce new rules that affect demand for its products. The company said contracts with government agencies account for about 1 per cent of its revenue.