NYC Comptroller Levine urges Anthropic to pause US IPO, CNBC reports

Oct 15 (Reuters) - Anthropic ‌should delay ​its ​US IPO until it addresses concerns about safety, governance and the pace of development, ‌urged New York City Comptroller Mark Levine in ⁠a letter to the AI lab's CEO Dario Amodei, CNBC reported ‌on Thursday.

AI systems have ‌advanced rapidly over the past 12 months, outpacing regulation and drawing scrutiny over potential risks including ​safety, cybersecurity threats and misuse.

"Instead of proceeding headlong with its IPO, the company should focus its energies ⁠on addressing these unprecedented risks," Levine wrote, according to CNBC.

The office of the ​NYC Comptroller and Anthropic did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment.

Anthropic’s own research ​has highlighted the risks posed ‌by increasingly autonomous AI models, which have demonstrated potentially harmful capabilities in controlled ⁠tests, including sabotaging code, facilitating fraud and manipulating information.

The IPO is currently expected in November, with a target valuation ⁠of over $2 trillion, according to media reports. Its closest rival, ChatGPT ​maker OpenAI, is expected to list in 2027.

Earlier this week, in a pre-IPO meeting, Anthropic told prospective investors that revenue in ‌the third quarter surged 45% from the prior quarter, Reuters reported, citing sources.

New ‌York City’s comptroller oversees the city’s finances, manages its ⁠pension funds and ‌acts as a watchdog ​over public spending and financial practices.

(Reporting by Manya Saini in Bengaluru; Editing by Jonathan ‌Ananda)