Anthropic weighs 15% to 20% retail allocation in planned IPO
Key Facts
Anthropic selected JPMorgan to lead sales of its shares to retail investors in the United States as part of its planned initial public offering, according to a Bloomberg report. The appointment does not mean the bank is leading the entire offering; Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are leading the overall process, while JPMorgan’s role focuses on the U.S. retail tranche. The company has considered allocating about 15% to 20% of the total offering shares to this group, but discussions are ongoing and the percentage could change. The allocation under consideration puts the potential level of retail participation at the center of the offering arrangements, without making it a final allocation. JPMorgan Chief Executive Jamie Dimon is expected to take part in the bank’s campaign to attract retail investors.
The retail investor arrangement extends beyond the United States: Citigroup is slated to coordinate the international offering aimed at them. The markets mentioned include Australia, Canada, Japan, Britain, Switzerland and some European Economic Area countries, distributing efforts to attract this group across local and international roles. JPMorgan’s assignment to U.S. sales comes amid its previous experience gathering retail orders for SpaceX’s offering in the United States. That offering was valued at 86.2 billion dollars, while retail investor demand exceeded 100 billion dollars, according to a Bloomberg report cited by the Business Times. The comparison offers a precedent for the level of interest the bank could seek to attract, but does not determine the size of retail demand for Anthropic shares.
Anthropic publicly filed its preliminary S-1 registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on 26 October 2026, ending the period of reports about the filing. The filing says the proposed securities may not be sold before the registration statement becomes effective, and describes the preliminary prospectus as incomplete and subject to change. The filing alone therefore does not mark the start of share sales or finalize the offering terms. The company said in its statement that it expects formal marketing of the IPO to begin on a date that could fall during the week of 9 November 2026. That timing remains tentative, while sales steps remain dependent on the registration becoming effective and on regulatory developments.
The filed financial statement provides context on the growth accompanying preparations for the offering: Anthropic’s revenue was 16.286 billion dollars in the six months ended 30 June 2026, compared with 1.163 billion dollars in the corresponding period of 2025, an annual increase of 1,300%. The company said the increase was linked to successive model and product releases that lifted usage, expansion and adoption of its offerings. In its summary of the figures, it reported revenue of 16.3 billion dollars for the first half of 2026, compared with 1.2 billion dollars in the first half of 2025. It also recorded an operating loss of 693 million dollars, compared with 2.1 billion dollars in the corresponding period. These figures combine rapid revenue expansion with a year-on-year reduction in the operating loss, while the cost of computing infrastructure remains a major item in the company’s accounts.
Computing and infrastructure expenses reached 8.945 billion dollars in the first half of 2026, up 283% year on year. Anthropic attributed the increase to taking delivery of computing capacity contracted earlier, linking the spending to expanded operating capacity needed to support its products. In another part of the disclosure, the company said its five largest customers accounted for about 25% of its revenue during 2026, highlighting concentration in its revenue base. These details give investors a picture of business growth, spending and reliance on major customers before the offering terms are set. The information provided did not specify a final offering value or share price.
Reports have circulated that the offering could raise as much as 100 billion dollars, but that figure remains a potential upper limit cited in press reports, not a final value announced by the company. Bankers and investors valued Anthropic’s fair value at about 1.4 to 1.5 trillion dollars, with the possibility it could reach 1.75 trillion dollars, according to a Bloomberg report cited by the Business Times. By contrast, other companies in the artificial intelligence and data-center infrastructure sectors have postponed listings amid rising interest rates and concerns about the sustainability of AI spending, according to a Reuters report. An Associated Press report said competitors such as OpenAI are delaying an offering until next year, which could place Anthropic among the first advanced AI lab companies to head to market. The company said its shares will be listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker ANT, with the sale terms to become clear after the procedures are completed and the registration statement becomes effective.