- Anthropic has confidentially filed draft paperwork for an initial public offering, beating rival OpenAI.
- The filing gives the Claude maker the option to go public once the SEC completes its review.
- Anthropic is the most valuable AI startup in the world
Artificial intelligence giant Anthropic has confidentially filed draft paperwork for an initial public offering with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), beating rival OpenAI.
Anthropic, which recently overtook Sam Altman's company as the most valuable AI startup last month with a $965 million valuation. Both companies were earlier expected to launch their public issue in the fall.
The filing gives Anthropic the option to go public after the SEC review is completed. “The proposed initial public offering will depend on market conditions and other factors,” the company explained in a statement.
The number of shares in the public offer and the price have not been set yet, the firm added.
With the announcement, Anthropic has edged out OpenAI. The Sam Altman-led AI firm is also expected to file for a public issue in the coming months.
The announcement also comes days before another blockbuster IPO is set to open - Elon Musk's SpaceX. The rocket maker plans to debut its shares on the market next week.
Submitting a confidential prospectus doesn't mean that Anthropic has a set timeframe for going public, CNBC revealed.
The Claude maker just has to put its official prospectus in the hands of investors at least 15 days before it begins a roadshow. Take SpaceX for example. The company submitted its confidential filing on April 1. On May 20, it put forward its public prospectus.
The confidential filing allows Anthropic to get feedback from regulators before it submits a public filing to the SEC.
Anthropic's rise has put the spotlight on AI startups and whether investor appetite is geared for these companies amid a boom in artificial intelligence. SpaceX, which was merged with Elon Musk's AI startup xAI, is expecting to raise $75 billion at a $1.8 trillion valuation. Anthropic's IPO is also expected to profit from the boom in AI.
If Anthropic debuts at a $1 trillion value, it would cross into the ranks of the most highly valued companies in the world, NBC reported, with a possibility of only SpaceX and Saudi Aramco beating it.
Many analysts think that whichever company enters the market first will perform better in the race for more funding. Both OpenAI and Anthropic are set to look for tens of billions in new capital in short succession.
Already, both AI giants and their suppliers and customers are seeking funding worth trillions of dollars through the bond markets to build out AI data centres.
A similar occurrence happened in 2019, when ridesharing apps both Uber and Lyft launched their public issue.
