The Anthropic IPO took a strange turn late on Monday, when the artificial intelligence company sent bankers a copy of its securities filing and then took the pricing details back. Details of the plan, including a sale of about 867 million shares at 70 to 80 dollars per share, were briefly circulated to banks before being retracted, according to emails seen by Reuters. A follow-up email from Anthropic said the pricing details were inaccurate and that the company would update the filing later.
The circulated filing showed Anthropic aimed to sell about 866.7 million Class A shares, including a secondary offering. Anthropic itself would sell about 843.3 million shares, while existing shareholders would sell a further 23.3 million shares. At the top of the range, the sale would have raised 69.3 billion dollars, according to Reuters. Anthropic declined to comment, and the email did not say what was wrong with the figures.
The Anthropic IPO is one of the most closely watched listings of the year, and the retraction leaves its key numbers unconfirmed. Reuters reported that it was unable to determine what was incorrect in the circulated filing, and the company’s email did not specify which details were wrong. Until a corrected filing appears, there is no confirmed price range, share count or valuation for investors to work from.
The filing went to banks late on Monday, and the follow-up email retracting the pricing details arrived hours later, according to Reuters. The Anthropic IPO documents seen by Reuters are the only public record of the terms so far, and the company has not published the filing itself.
Anthropic IPO filing and the 26 billion placement
The circulated filing also showed that Anthropic had lined up 26 billion dollars in investments from some of the world’s biggest technology companies alongside the listing. Alphabet’s Google, Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices, Broadcom, Micron Technology, Microsoft and TSMC had agreed to take part in a private placement of Anthropic’s Class N common stock at the IPO price, which would close immediately after the listing, according to the original filing.
It is not yet clear whether that private placement is affected by the correction, according to reports of the Reuters story. The placement would have brought in 26 billion dollars on top of the IPO proceeds, taking the total raised to roughly 87 billion to 95 billion dollars, according to Dealroom. The Anthropic IPO filing did not disclose an implied valuation, and the reports did not give one either.
The Anthropic IPO placement named Google, Nvidia, AMD, Broadcom, Micron, Microsoft and TSMC, seven of the largest technology companies in the world, and their participation would put them on Anthropic’s share register at the IPO price. Reuters described them as some of the world’s biggest technology companies, and the placement was set to close immediately after the listing.
Anthropic raised 65 billion dollars at a 965 billion dollar post-money valuation in May, according to Dealroom. Potential investors have been discussing valuations of roughly 1.1 trillion to 1.3 trillion dollars, according to Bloomberg, a range that reflects a reassessment of AI valuations after last week’s midterm elections in the United States. Those figures are market talk, not numbers Anthropic has confirmed.
Anthropic IPO roadshow and what happens next
Anthropic is expected to formally launch the roadshow on Tuesday, with pricing expected in the following week, according to the Reuters report carried by The Hindu Business Line. Reports have said the company aims to begin trading on Nasdaq under the ticker ANT as soon as next week, around 19 or 20 November. The corrected filing will now be the reference point for the share count, the price range and the implied valuation.
The company behind the Claude chatbot has not said when the updated filing will arrive, and it declined to comment when Reuters asked about the retraction. The emails reviewed by Reuters are the only record of what was circulated, and the report does not name the banks that received the copy. The Anthropic IPO will stay in limbo until the company puts out the corrected document.
The retraction adds uncertainty to a deal the market is treating as a benchmark for AI valuations, according to InvestingLive. The Anthropic IPO figures that went out on Monday are now described as inaccurate by the company that sent them, so the market is waiting for the corrected filing before it can price the listing. Anthropic said it would update the filing later.