TradingKey - On November 6 ET, potential IPO buyers of Anthropic were discussing a valuation of $1.2 trillion to $1.3 trillion, lower than the $1.4 trillion to $1.5 trillion previously indicated to underwriting banks. Based on the midpoint of the ranges, valuation expectations have fallen by approximately 13.8%.
The adjustment comes ahead of the company's planned launch of its formal IPO roadshow next week. After Democrats won both chambers of Congress and several key gubernatorial elections, concerns over tighter data center regulations intensified a sell-off in AI stocks. On Thursday, the Nasdaq 100 Index dropped 6.4%, wiping out approximately $2.3 trillion in combined market capitalization from its constituent stocks and dampening investors' bidding appetite for new share offerings.
Anthropic Compute Expansion Faces Uncertainty as Data Center Curb Concerns Mount
Newly elected Democratic governors in Texas, Ohio, and Georgia have all advocated for tighter regulation of data center construction. Texas Governor-elect Gina Hinojosa told CNN in an interview on Thursday that data center development should be paused until legal protections for local residents are established.
For Anthropic, compute supply is directly tied to the training and operation of its Claude models. If approvals for new projects slow down, the delivery of additional compute capacity could be delayed, subsequently affecting model development, service expansion, and revenue growth, and prompting investors to reassess the timeline required for the company to deliver on its high growth.
The company recently disclosed purchase commitments and lease agreements totaling approximately $895 billion, primarily involving computing power and infrastructure resources over the next decade or so. Its prospectus has also listed public controversy and regulatory scrutiny triggered by data centers as risk factors. Related financial disclosure reports
These long-term commitments require sustained business cash collections and financing support. Today, as uncertainties surrounding compute delivery coincide with a pullback in capital market valuations, the IPO faces tougher choices among fundraising size, offering valuation, and shareholder dilution.
Anthropic IPO Buyers Demand Lower Valuation as Odds of Official IPO Announcement This Year Cut to 57%
Institutional investors remain willing to participate, with differences primarily centering on price. David Rainville, technology portfolio manager at Sycomore Asset Management, believes that finding investors should not be difficult if the valuation is set around $1.2 trillion.
Max Kettner, chief multi-asset strategist at HSBC, believes a valuation of around $1 trillion would be more reassuring and help reduce the risk of sharp post-listing volatility. He places greater emphasis on post-IPO trading performance rather than the fanfare surrounding the offering size.
Expectations regarding the listing timeline are also weakening. According to data from Kalshi, over the past week, the implied probability of Anthropic officially announcing an IPO before December dropped from over 85% to 57%, while the probability of an announcement before January 2027 fell from 90% to 68%. These contracts track the timing of the official confirmation of the IPO.
For the company, lowering the valuation helps attract buyers, but if it still hopes to raise the same amount of capital through the share offering, it would need to cede more equity; downsizing the offering, meanwhile, would reduce fresh capital. The crux of this IPO has now shifted to the price at which the market is willing to support Anthropic's next phase of compute investments and business growth.
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