Current and prospective Anthropic investors are weighing a substantially lower valuation for the frontier AI lab ahead of an anticipated initial public offering next month following its latest quarterly financials.
Some investors who attended Anthropic's investor presentation with CEO Dario Amodei and finance chief Krishna Rao in San Francisco on Wednesday discussed a valuation of around $1.5 trillion, Reuters reported late Thursday, citing three people familiar with the matter. The Information also reported that investors were considering a lower valuation.
That figure is 25% below previous expectations of roughly $2 trillion for the share sale, amid mounting concerns over the cost of financing AI infrastructure. Last month, Anthropic said it plans to spend $518 billion in cloud, computing, and infrastructure obligations over the coming years.
Anthropic reportedly told investors on Wednesday that it posted an adjusted profit in the third quarter as revenue rose to $16.8 billion, up from about $11.6 billion in Q2, marking its second consecutive quarter of adjusted profitability. The company also said it was cash-flow positive and earned $1.70 for every $1 spent on computing power during the quarter, while chips and data centers remained its largest expense.
However, Anthropic's growth rate has substantially slowed to 45% since the second quarter, when its reported revenue more than doubled, and it's that metric that has seemingly spooked certain investors.
The Latent reached out to Anthropic for comment.
An IPO before Thanksgiving?
Anthropic's Wednesday presentation came ahead of formal IPO marketing in November and a possible trading debut before Thanksgiving. A weaker-than-expected reception for its IPO could also weigh on the broader AI market, with investors watching the company's listing ahead of rival OpenAI's potential IPO next year.
Anthropic confidentially filed for an IPO with the Securities and Exchange Commission back in June and was initially thought to have considered a listing as early as this month. It is reportedly seeking to raise $100 billion.
At the time, its prospectus warned that AI could pose "catastrophic or existential risks to humanity," particularly if advanced AI models exhibit "self-preserving behaviors," devoting around 80 pages in total to risk factors. Such behaviors could include attempts to resist shutdown, conceal or manipulate information, or engage in conduct resembling blackmail, according to Reuters.