Anthropic Moves Toward IPO as Investors Push Below $1.5T

By Nathan Brooks

Anthropic reportedly plans to set an IPO valuation range this week and begin trading on Thursday or Friday of next week, according to The Wall Street Journal. The timetable would place the AI company near the market after a sell-off described as one of Nasdaq’s biggest, and amid an allegation involving an AI-sector chief. Neither the range nor the trading date is final in the cited account.

The company is moving ahead despite those conditions, according to the report. The next measure of that confidence is the number public investors will accept, not the elegance of the calendar.

What valuation is Anthropic discussing?

Investors will use Anthropic’s valuation to "gauge the strength of the AI boom," The Journal said. Some institutional investors are now pressing for a valuation below the $1.5 trillion target discussed as recently as last week.

The $1.5 trillion figure was itself considerably below the $2 trillion level floated a few months ago. That reduction sets a harder test for an IPO on the reported timetable.

At $1.5 trillion, Anthropic’s discussed target would exceed the $1.25 trillion valuation reported for OpenAI last week. The difference is $250 billion, making the pricing debate a sector issue rather than a routine listing decision.

None of those figures is a confirmed IPO price. The $2 trillion number was floated, $1.5 trillion was discussed, and institutional investors now want less; the actual range is what Anthropic plans to set this week.

The sequence matters because it narrows the gap between private ambition and buyer expectations. Anthropic has moved from a $2 trillion talking point to a $1.5 trillion target, while some buyers are pressing below even that level. The valuation history is more revealing than any one headline number.

The cited account gives no final range or proceeds figure. Until those terms appear, the offering remains a roadmap rather than a priced transaction, and the $1.5 trillion target remains a negotiation point rather than a completed market valuation.

How does OpenAI frame the benchmark?

OpenAI, Anthropic’s main rival, was reportedly valued at $1.25 trillion last week after raising $11 billion in fresh capital. The ChatGPT maker had initially sought $20 billion, so the completed round landed $9 billion short.

That gap does not prove public investors will reject Anthropic at the same threshold. It does show that a high private valuation can coexist with a fundraising target that attracts less money than planned.

The two benchmarks pull in opposite directions. OpenAI supplies a recent private-market valuation, while Anthropic’s prospective IPO will reveal what public investors will pay in the current environment. OpenAI’s figure follows a reported funding-round valuation, not a public listing, so the comparison is informative rather than exact.

The OpenAI round adds scale to that comparison. The company raised $11 billion, $9 billion less than sought, and the reported valuation still reached $1.25 trillion. For Anthropic, the relevant question is whether public buyers will treat a public listing as a firmer or weaker test than the private funding market.

What risks surround the timetable?

The report places Anthropic’s plans shortly after what The Journal called "one of Nasdaq’s biggest sell-offs." It also places the launch amid revelations that a CEO central to the AI boom had an affair with a suspected Chinese spy.

The account does not identify that chief, so the allegation cannot be assigned to Anthropic or OpenAI from the available facts. The timing would nevertheless be difficult: a major technology IPO depends on buyers tolerating broad market weakness, while the alleged espionage link raises a different kind of scrutiny.

The market reference also lacks a numerical marker in the account. No percentage decline or date is provided, so the commercial signal is turbulence around the filing window rather than proof that every AI listing faces weak demand.

Anthropic’s willingness to proceed does not remove those risks. It only shows that the company sees a usable listing window despite them. The immediate test is whether the range reaches the market this week and whether trading starts on the stated days.

If Anthropic sets the range below $1.5 trillion, institutional investors will have set the first public price signal for the company. If it holds at or above that level while trading begins next Thursday or Friday, OpenAI’s $1.25 trillion private valuation becomes the immediate competitive benchmark.

The final range should give investors their clearest test yet of what public markets will pay for the AI boom. It will also replace a trail of private marks with a price that both rivals must address.