Anthropic bankers begin investor meetings as potential IPO advances

Anthropic is arranging meetings between company executives and prospective investors as preparations for a potential initial public offering advance, a person familiar with the plans told CNBC. The artificial intelligence company was valued at $965 billion in a May funding round, making any listing a major test of public-market appetite for high-growth AI businesses.

Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase are involved in planning the offering, according to CNBC. The three banks are the largest Wall Street firms by revenue, and their participation underscores the scale of the mandate under discussion.

The meetings are an early step in the IPO process. Banks typically use such conversations to assess investor interest, valuation expectations and likely demand before a formal roadshow, when management presents the company to institutions ahead of a share sale. Anthropic confidentially filed IPO paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission in June, CNBC has reported, but has not publicly set a date for a debut.

Bloomberg, which first reported the investor meetings, said Anthropic could reach the public market as soon as October, while noting that the timing may change. An Anthropic spokesperson declined to comment to CNBC.

A listing would place Anthropic among the first of the largest private AI developers to test public equity markets. It would also follow SpaceX’s June IPO, which CNBC described as a major offering that helped extend momentum for companies tied to the AI investment cycle and adjacent technology infrastructure.

Anthropic’s route to market is being watched alongside OpenAI’s. CNBC reported that OpenAI also confidentially filed for an IPO with the SEC in June, though the company has not released further details. Anthropic’s latest private valuation of $965 billion exceeded OpenAI’s $852 billion valuation for the first time, according to CNBC.

Founded in 2021, Anthropic was created by executives and researchers who had left OpenAI over concerns about that company’s direction, CNBC reported. The company develops the Claude family of AI models and has gained traction with corporate customers, including through Claude Code, its coding assistant.

The company’s May financing raised $65 billion, according to CNBC. That round placed Anthropic near the top of the private technology market by valuation and provided another indication of investor demand for companies building and commercializing advanced AI systems.

For Wall Street, large AI listings and private financings have become an important revenue opportunity. CNBC reported that the AI spending boom has supported a rebound in profits for financial firms as investors seek exposure to the capital-intensive buildout, as well as ways to hedge risks tied to the theme.

No public prospectus has been released, so details such as revenue, profitability, share count and proposed valuation range remain undisclosed. Until Anthropic publishes offering documents or confirms timing, the planned IPO remains subject to market conditions, regulatory review and company decisions.

This story draws on original reporting from CNBC.