Anthropic lines up investor meetings as IPO planning advances

Anthropic is taking another step toward a potential stock market debut, a move that could give everyday investors a rare chance to buy into one of the most closely watched artificial intelligence companies. CNBC reported that bankers are arranging meetings between investors and Anthropic executives ahead of a possible initial public offering later this year.

An initial public offering, or IPO, is when a private company sells shares to public investors for the first time. Before that happens, banks usually test demand with large investors, then run a formal roadshow where company leaders pitch the business before shares are priced and listed.

A person familiar with the plans told CNBC that Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase are involved in the offering. CNBC described them as Wall Street’s three largest banks by revenue. The person declined to be named because the process is private.

Bloomberg, which first reported the investor meetings, said Anthropic could reach public markets as soon as October, while noting that the timing could still shift. CNBC reported that an Anthropic spokesperson declined to comment.

What investors know so far

Anthropic confidentially filed IPO paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission in June, according to CNBC. A confidential filing lets a company submit its prospectus to regulators without immediately releasing the full document to the public. Anthropic has not announced when it plans to list.

The company is best known for Claude, its family of AI models, and Claude Code, a coding assistant that CNBC said has helped Anthropic gain traction with enterprise customers. Enterprise sales refer to selling software and services to companies, rather than mainly to individual consumers.

Anthropic was started in 2021 by executives and researchers who left OpenAI after concerns about OpenAI’s direction, according to CNBC. If Anthropic lists first, it would reach public markets ahead of OpenAI, which CNBC reported also confidentially filed for an IPO in June but has not released further details.

The numbers around Anthropic are already unusually large for a private technology company. CNBC reported that Anthropic closed a $65 billion funding round in May at a $965 billion valuation. That pushed it above OpenAI’s $852 billion valuation for the first time, according to CNBC.

Why Wall Street is paying attention

A public listing would extend the recent reopening of IPO markets for major technology names. CNBC pointed to SpaceX’s June IPO as part of that momentum and said an Anthropic deal would further open public markets to companies tied to the AI buildout.

For banks, the AI boom has created new fee opportunities. CNBC reported that spending tied to artificial intelligence has helped revive profits at Wall Street firms as investors look for ways to finance, invest in or hedge exposure to the sector.

The investor meetings do not guarantee Anthropic will list on the expected timeline, or at all. They do show that the company and its bankers are moving into a more active stage of IPO preparation, while investors wait for the public prospectus that would spell out Anthropic’s revenue, losses, risks and ownership structure.

This story draws on original reporting from CNBC.