TradingKey - Anthropic is reportedly planning to launch its initial public offering in November 2026, representing a delay from the October timeframe previously expected by investors. Meanwhile, the company, along with OpenAI, Google, and SpaceXAI, is facing an antitrust lawsuit over allegations of coordinating to slow down AI development.
Why Anthropic Is Said to Delay Its IPO Until November?
According to The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, some advisors to Anthropic believe that waiting until November will allow the company to present its third-quarter financial data to investors before going public, proving that it remains competitive following OpenAI's launch of GPT-6 Astra.
[Source: The Wall Street Journal]
The report noted that Anthropic plans to meet with potential investors in the coming days. The company has not yet made its prospectus public, and the timing, size, and pricing of the offering have not been determined.
The Wall Street Journal previously reported that Anthropic's IPO could raise up to $100 billion, with a potential valuation of around $2 trillion.
According to Reuters, as of the end of July 2026, Anthropic's annualized revenue run-rate rose from about $9 billion at the end of 2025 to over $65 billion. The company internally expects revenue to potentially reach $190 billion to $200 billion in 2028. Third-quarter revenue, profitability, and computing power expenditures will serve as key benchmarks for institutional investors evaluating its valuation.
Why AI Safety Coordination Sparks Antitrust Lawsuits
According to the Associated Press, four paying users filed a lawsuit against Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, and SpaceXAI in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on September 18. The plaintiffs allege that the four companies restricted market competition by coordinating to slow the pace of AI development, and are seeking to bring a class-action lawsuit on behalf of all paying users of ChatGPT, Claude, Grok, and Gemini across the United States.
The lawsuit focuses on an article published on September 12 by Anthropic Chief Executive Officer Dario Amodei. In the article, he called on frontier AI companies to control the speed of model capability enhancements and proposed introducing independent evaluations, establishing common safety standards, and strengthening international coordination.
OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman, SpaceXAI Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk, and Google DeepMind Co-Founder and Chairman Demis Hassabis subsequently expressed support for the relevant proposals. The plaintiffs cited these public responses as evidence supporting their allegations of coordination.
Amodei had previously suggested that the U.S. government host inter-company safety discussions or provide limited-scope antitrust immunity for specific safety dialogues. The plaintiffs stated that they do not object to companies seeking government regulation or antitrust immunity, and that their allegations target unauthorized coordination among companies.
As of the time of the Associated Press report, none of the four companies had responded to requests for comment. The case is at the pleading stage, and the court has not determined that the companies reached an agreement or violated antitrust laws.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Anthropic's decision to adjust its IPO timeline predated the current safety debate and lawsuit. Some advisors hope to support the listing valuation with third-quarter financial data; the lawsuit's impact will depend on the court's review of the complaint and subsequent proceedings.
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