Anthropic is preparing to file its IPO application as early as the end of August 2026, seeking to raise funds that could reach or surpass SpaceX’s initial $75 billion target, which rose to $86.2 billion including the over-allotment [1, 2]. The company’s valuation following a $65 billion financing round in May 2026 stood at $965 billion, exceeding OpenAI’s $852 billion valuation recorded in March 2026 [1, 2].

The AI firm’s preliminary revenue for the second quarter of 2026 exceeded $11.5 billion, a sharp rise from $787 million in the same quarter last year. Its annualized revenue run rate as of July 2026 stood at $65 billion [1, 2]. Despite these figures, Anthropic reported a net loss close to $42 billion in 2025, more than five times the $8.3 billion loss seen in 2024 [2].

Anthropic’s chief financial officer, Krishna Rao, has led recent investor presentations but refrained from pinpointing an exact valuation target for the IPO [1, 3, 2]. The company is also preparing a revolving credit financing facility likely exceeding a previous $10 billion target before the IPO filing [1].

To consolidate control, Anthropic plans to issue "super voting shares" granting greater influence to CEO Dario Amodei and co-founders; Amodei currently holds about 2% equity [1]. The company continues to invest heavily in computing capacity, having signed multi-billion-dollar deals with SpaceX for computational resources to support AI model development [1, 3].

Anthropic faces regulatory and operational risks, including potential backlash against AI technology and opposition to data center construction in the U.S. These will be disclosed as risk factors in the IPO prospectus [3]. Additionally, Anthropic intends to revise data retention policies, allowing enterprise customers to store information on their own cloud infrastructure to mitigate impact from evolving security rules [2].

As of August 19, 2026, U.S. IPOs have collectively raised $160.6 billion this year, nearing the full-year record of $195.2 billion set in 2021 [1, 2].

Anthropic expects to complete its IPO filing before OpenAI, which is considering a public offering no earlier than 2027 [1, 3]. The company’s imminent IPO submission marks a key milestone in the competitive AI sector.