Nov 10 (Reuters) - Anthropic's IPO plans to raise as much as $64.4 billion, a regulatory filing showed on Tuesday, testing Wall Street's faith in the AI boom amid growing worries about its risks.
The company is targeting a valuation of up to $1.02 trillion, according to Reuters calculations based on the outstanding shares listed in the filing.
Reuters exclusively reported on Tuesday that Anthropic and some of its investors aim to sell shares in an indicative price band of between $70 and $78 per share.
The company is launching the roadshow for a historic share sale that is expected to set a benchmark for the sector, following years of hype that fueled a massive influx of capital into AI companies.
COMMENTS:
FIONA CINCOTTA, SENIOR MARKET ANALYST, CITY INDEX, LONDON
"It's a little bit lower than an initial expectation around the 69 billion that was sent out earlier this morning, but that was then considered inaccurate.
And I think given the volatility, concerns towards AI that we've seen in sort of particularly last week. This is actually fairly bullish and it's showing that they are still sort of upbeat about the outlook as far as AI is concerned and that obviously that they think that the demand is going to be there."
IPEK OZKARDESKAYA, SENIOR ANALYST AT SWISSQUOTE BANK, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
"What we are seeing is essentially a reassessment of Anthropic's value in a more challenging AI environment. The company continues to post impressive growth, but investors are increasingly focused on the cost of generating that growth. The shift from a $2 trillion valuation to today's level reflects a change in focus from revenue growth alone to the significant financial commitments and spending required to sustain it."
"The timing of the IPO is notable because investors have become much more focused on the costs of the AI buildout than they were over the past few years. Political and regulatory uncertainties, along with a higher interest-rate environment, have also raised questions about future AI spending. As a result, many investors see Anthropic's IPO as an important test of appetite for AI-related investments."
MICHAEL BAKER, HEAD OF UK PREMIUM CLIENTS AT CAPITAL.COM, LONDON
"You've got to build a sustainable client base that is willing to pay those sizeable bills, both on the consumer side and among businesses, that's what Anthropic will have to sustain. At the same time, it has to keep up with the costs of chips and data centers while continuing to offer competitive models and outperform major Chinese rivals."
"It's a huge valuation, and I think it will take a lot to convince investors that it represents a fair price."
(Reporting by Utkarsh Tushar Hathi, Tharuniyaa Lakshmi, Anand Gopal, Johann M Cherian in Bengaluru, Arpan Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai)
