Anthropic Withdraws $70-$80 IPO Price Range as Investors Demand Valuation Below $1.5 Trillion
Reports indicate Anthropic pulled its initial IPO pricing proposal after institutional investors pushed for a valuation cap under $1.5 trillion amid AI market concerns.
Artificial intelligence firm Anthropic has withdrawn its indicative initial public offering (IPO) price range of $70 to $80 per share, according to reports from The Wall Street Journal, Reuters, and The Information. This move comes ahead of its planned Nasdaq debut under the ticker "ANT" on November 19 or 20, following demands from some institutional investors to keep the valuation below $1.5 trillion, significantly lower than the approximately $2 trillion discussed earlier this year.
Emails obtained by Reuters show that late on November 9 Eastern Time, Anthropic sent a document to underwriters proposing to sell about 867 million shares at $70 to $80 each, aiming to raise up to $69.3 billion. A subsequent email stated that the "price details were incorrect" and that the company would update the filing. As of November 9, the latest version on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) EDGAR system remained the amended prospectus from November 2, with price and share count fields left blank. Anthropic declined to comment.
The resistance to a high valuation reflects broader market concerns regarding AI sector volatility. Bloomberg previously reported that potential investors had discussed valuations dropping to the $1.2 trillion to $1.3 trillion range. The Wall Street Journal noted that investor worries include tech market fluctuations, increased exposure to AI investment risks, political opposition to new data centers, and uncertainty about when major cloud providers will see returns on AI spending. Some investors reportedly prefer Chief Financial Officer Krishna Rao to adopt a conservative pricing strategy to leave room for first-day gains.
Despite the pressure, Anthropic is attempting to stick to its original timeline. However, reports suggest that failing to agree on satisfactory pricing could force a delay, which carries the risk of triggering market panic. This episode highlights how capital markets are reassessing profitability paths and macro risks even for leading AI companies, directly impacting their financing terms.