Could Anthropic Take the Crown for the Largest IPO in History?
Anthropic, the U.S. artificial-intelligence company described as a "superstar newcomer," is reportedly planning to go public in October, with investors expecting an IPO valuation of $2 trillion or more. If that valuation is achieved, Anthropic’s listing could become the largest IPO in history worldwide. The Financial Times reported that Anthropic plans to list in October 2026. Investors expect the company’s valuation to reach $2 trillion or more, surpassing SpaceX and setting a record for the largest initial public offering ever. Investor sources said Anthropic plans to list this fall and that its valuation could more than double from current levels as revenue surges. Investors said demand for Anthropic’s high-end artificial-intelligence models and tools continues to rise sharply, potentially supporting the lofty valuation expectation. The company behind Claude is expected to reach an annualized revenue run rate of $100 billion to $120 billion by the end of 2026, compared with $47 billion as of May 2026. One investor scenario assumes that Anthropic’s annual revenue growth could reach 800%. Even at a 30-times price-to-sales multiple, that would imply a total enterprise value of as much as $3 trillion. There is currently no comparable publicly traded AI company in the U.S. stock market that provides a clear valuation benchmark for Anthropic. Companies widely viewed this year as beneficiaries of the AI boom—including data-intelligence company Palantir and cloud-services provider Nebius—have been trading at revenue multiples of roughly 55 times. Several investors said Anthropic’s executive team has not yet settled on an IPO valuation target in private discussions, but major investors have already built dedicated financial models for the company. In private secondary markets, Anthropic’s implied valuation surpassed $1 trillion several months ago because demand for its shares exceeded supply. It has recently been pushed to about $1.2 trillion. Venture-capital firms, sovereign wealth funds and other institutional investors invested nearly $100 billion in Anthropic in 2026. Following a new funding round, Anthropic’s overall valuation reached $965 billion in May, allowing it to surpass OpenAI for the first time. Investors’ forecasts remain optimistic, but Anthropic also faces growing challenges, including intensifying competition, pressure from AI regulation and unresolved disputes with the U.S. government. The company has clashed with the Trump administration several times and remains in litigation with the U.S. Department of Defense, which designated Anthropic as a supply-chain-risk entity earlier this year. In June, the U.S. Department of Commerce introduced export-control measures that forced Anthropic to temporarily take down its flagship models, Fable5 and Mythos5. The episode raised concerns among some customers that depend on the company’s models. An investor familiar with the matter said those risks—particularly the Commerce Department’s temporary ban on the flagship models—caused Anthropic’s overall revenue growth to slow in June. The investor added that the business has since recovered and continues to grow at an extremely rapid rate, even by Silicon Valley standards. An Anthropic investor who also invested in AI companies including OpenAI and SpaceX said: "It is not difficult to list the challenges facing this company. SpaceX completed its IPO in June at a valuation of $1.77 trillion. But whether measured by model performance, industry positioning or the sector attracting capital, Anthropic remains firmly in first place." Separately, Bloomberg reported that Anthropic is in talks to acquire AI startup Decart AI for about $6 billion. People familiar with the matter said the deal has not been finalized and could still fall apart. If completed, it would be Anthropic’s largest known acquisition before its closely watched IPO. Decart AI develops software that reduces the cost of training AI models by improving chip utilization. The technology could help Anthropic’s existing infrastructure handle more demand. Anthropic rarely makes large acquisitions, but it has invested heavily in computing capacity to develop new products and serve customers. One person familiar with the matter said Decart’s team would join Anthropic’s inference and performance division. Decart AI also focuses on generative video. Its so-called world model can modify live video streams in real time, a capability that reflects the company’s infrastructure technology and talent. Analysts have described three potential strategic implications of a $6 billion acquisition, if completed. First, it could act as a computing-efficiency lever by increasing the output of Anthropic’s infrastructure. Anthropic has committed to spending tens of billions of dollars to build data centers equipped with expensive chips. Decart’s optimization technology could allow that infrastructure to support greater computing demand while chip supplies remain tight. Second, completing a high-profile strategic acquisition shortly before an IPO could support Anthropic’s valuation narrative. Anthropic plans to complete its listing in September or early October, and a deal before the IPO could help the company present public-market investors with a more complete full-stack AI story and reinforce valuation expectations. Third, the acquisition could help Anthropic build a differentiated defense against OpenAI’s scale advantage. As OpenAI continues to compete through scale, Anthropic could seek to establish a moat based on efficiency. Decart’s ability to deliver higher performance on the same chips would complement Anthropic’s technology philosophy of safety and control, potentially widening its differentiation.
The Financial Times reported that Anthropic plans to list in October 2026. Investors expect the company’s valuation to reach $2 trillion or more, surpassing SpaceX and setting a record for the largest initial public offering ever. Investor sources said Anthropic plans to list this fall and that its valuation could more than double from current levels as revenue surges.
Investors said demand for Anthropic’s high-end artificial-intelligence models and tools continues to rise sharply, potentially supporting the lofty valuation expectation. The company behind Claude is expected to reach an annualized revenue run rate of $100 billion to $120 billion by the end of 2026, compared with $47 billion as of May 2026.
One investor scenario assumes that Anthropic’s annual revenue growth could reach 800%. Even at a 30-times price-to-sales multiple, that would imply a total enterprise value of as much as $3 trillion.
There is currently no comparable publicly traded AI company in the U.S. stock market that provides a clear valuation benchmark for Anthropic. Companies widely viewed this year as beneficiaries of the AI boom—including data-intelligence company Palantir and cloud-services provider Nebius—have been trading at revenue multiples of roughly 55 times.
Several investors said Anthropic’s executive team has not yet settled on an IPO valuation target in private discussions, but major investors have already built dedicated financial models for the company.
In private secondary markets, Anthropic’s implied valuation surpassed $1 trillion several months ago because demand for its shares exceeded supply. It has recently been pushed to about $1.2 trillion.
Venture-capital firms, sovereign wealth funds and other institutional investors invested nearly $100 billion in Anthropic in 2026. Following a new funding round, Anthropic’s overall valuation reached $965 billion in May, allowing it to surpass OpenAI for the first time.
Investors’ forecasts remain optimistic, but Anthropic also faces growing challenges, including intensifying competition, pressure from AI regulation and unresolved disputes with the U.S. government. The company has clashed with the Trump administration several times and remains in litigation with the U.S. Department of Defense, which designated Anthropic as a supply-chain-risk entity earlier this year.
In June, the U.S. Department of Commerce introduced export-control measures that forced Anthropic to temporarily take down its flagship models, Fable5 and Mythos5. The episode raised concerns among some customers that depend on the company’s models.
An investor familiar with the matter said those risks—particularly the Commerce Department’s temporary ban on the flagship models—caused Anthropic’s overall revenue growth to slow in June. The investor added that the business has since recovered and continues to grow at an extremely rapid rate, even by Silicon Valley standards.
An Anthropic investor who also invested in AI companies including OpenAI and SpaceX said: "It is not difficult to list the challenges facing this company. SpaceX completed its IPO in June at a valuation of $1.77 trillion. But whether measured by model performance, industry positioning or the sector attracting capital, Anthropic remains firmly in first place."
Separately, Bloomberg reported that Anthropic is in talks to acquire AI startup Decart AI for about $6 billion. People familiar with the matter said the deal has not been finalized and could still fall apart. If completed, it would be Anthropic’s largest known acquisition before its closely watched IPO.
Decart AI develops software that reduces the cost of training AI models by improving chip utilization. The technology could help Anthropic’s existing infrastructure handle more demand. Anthropic rarely makes large acquisitions, but it has invested heavily in computing capacity to develop new products and serve customers. One person familiar with the matter said Decart’s team would join Anthropic’s inference and performance division.
Decart AI also focuses on generative video. Its so-called world model can modify live video streams in real time, a capability that reflects the company’s infrastructure technology and talent.
Analysts have described three potential strategic implications of a $6 billion acquisition, if completed. First, it could act as a computing-efficiency lever by increasing the output of Anthropic’s infrastructure. Anthropic has committed to spending tens of billions of dollars to build data centers equipped with expensive chips. Decart’s optimization technology could allow that infrastructure to support greater computing demand while chip supplies remain tight.
Second, completing a high-profile strategic acquisition shortly before an IPO could support Anthropic’s valuation narrative. Anthropic plans to complete its listing in September or early October, and a deal before the IPO could help the company present public-market investors with a more complete full-stack AI story and reinforce valuation expectations.
Third, the acquisition could help Anthropic build a differentiated defense against OpenAI’s scale advantage. As OpenAI continues to compete through scale, Anthropic could seek to establish a moat based on efficiency. Decart’s ability to deliver higher performance on the same chips would complement Anthropic’s technology philosophy of safety and control, potentially widening its differentiation.