Anthropic IPO valuation expectations slip to $1.5T as revenue growth slows
Reuters, citing four people familiar with the matter, reports that Anthropic told investors at a San Francisco investor day that third-quarter revenue reached $16.8 billion, up 45% quarter over quarter, with profitability on an adjusted basis — but the slowing growth left some existing and prospective IPO investors discussing a valuation of about $1.5 trillion, down from the roughly $2 trillion expected for a November listing. Anthropic's second-quarter revenue was $11.6 billion, more than double the first quarter, before growth decelerated to 45%; the company attributed part of the revenue picture to tighter controls on distillation and said it earns $1.70 in revenue for every $1 spent on compute, with an adjusted operating margin of about 11% excluding stock-based compensation. Research firm SemiAnalysis estimates Anthropic's current annualized revenue at roughly $74 billion, and some investors worry a weak debut could deepen doubts about the broader AI infrastructure buildout.
As the first IPO of a pure frontier AI lab, its pricing and reception are being read by investors as a near-term gauge of sentiment across AI equities and infrastructure spending.