Anthropic, the artificial intelligence company behind the Claude series of large language models, has confidentially filed a draft registration statement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission for its initial public offering, marking the second major US technology company to take that step in recent weeks.
The confidential filing, submitted on Form S-1 on 1 June, allows the San Francisco-based firm to work through the SEC’s review process before making its financial details public. Anthropic stated on its website that the amount to be raised – determined by the number of shares to be issued and their price – has not yet been set, and that the proposed offering “will depend on market conditions and other factors”.
No firm date has been announced, but analysts expect a public debut in the second half of 2026, potentially as early as October or November. The next key milestone will be the public filing of the S-1 prospectus, typically about two weeks before an investor roadshow begins.
The move places Anthropic ahead of its rival OpenAI in the race to go public, and alongside SpaceX – whose own IPO is expected around 12 June – it is being billed as one of three landmark listings set to reshape the IPO landscape in 2026.
Massive fundraising round and soaring valuation
Just days before submitting its IPO paperwork, Anthropic announced the closure of a $65 billion Series H funding round, propelling its post-money valuation to $965 billion and making it the most valuable private AI company in the world, ahead of OpenAI.
The round was led by Altimeter Capital, Dragoneer, Greenoaks and Sequoia Capital. Brad Gerstner, founder and chief executive of Altimeter Capital, said: “Claude’s latest advancements have driven large-scale adoption among the world’s most demanding organisations. This momentum positions Anthropic to lead the next phase of AI innovation and capture the enormous opportunity ahead.”
Co-leading the round were Capital Group, Coatue, D1 Capital Partners, GIC, ICONIQ and XN. A broad group of “significant investors” was also named, including AMP PBC, Baillie Gifford, Blackstone, Brookfield, D.E. Shaw Ventures, DST Global, Fidelity Management & Research Company, General Catalyst, Insight Partners, Jane Street, Lightspeed Venture Partners, MGX, NTTVC, NX1 Capital, Situational Awareness LP, T. Rowe Price Associates, T. Rowe Price Investment Management, and Temasek.
The raise includes $15 billion of previously committed investments from hyperscalers, with Amazon contributing $5 billion. Amazon is Anthropic’s single largest investor, having committed up to $8 billion across multiple rounds, though it does not hold a controlling stake. The involvement of hardware manufacturers Micron Technology, Samsung and SK hynix in the Series H round signals a strategic focus on securing essential chips and components for AI model development.
This latest round follows a Series G in February 2026 that raised $30 billion at a $380 billion valuation. Since its founding in 2021, Anthropic has raised approximately $125 billion in total.
The company’s financial performance has accelerated sharply. Its run-rate revenue – an annualised projection based on current monthly figures – crossed $47 billion in May 2026, up from $30 billion in April and $14 billion in February. Anthropic is reportedly on track to deliver its first quarterly operating profit, targeting $559 million on $10.9 billion in revenue in the second quarter of 2026. Alfred Lin, partner at Sequoia Capital, said: “Startups and Global 5000 companies alike are deploying Claude to handle complex workflows, and in doing so, Claude is learning how businesses actually operate: the context, the processes, the judgement.”
The company has expanded its compute capacity through signed agreements with Amazon, Google, Broadcom, Microsoft and NVIDIA. Claude is the first frontier model available on all three major cloud platforms – Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud and Microsoft Azure – with AWS serving as its primary cloud provider and training partner. Anthropic has committed over $100 billion over the next ten years to AWS technologies for compute capacity, including up to 5 gigawatts of capacity. It has also committed to purchasing $30 billion of Azure compute capacity, with NVIDIA committing up to $10 billion and Microsoft up to $5 billion as investors.
Investment trust options for UK retail investors
For UK retail investors keen on exposure to Anthropic without navigating the often onerous and volatile IPO process, several investment trusts already hold the stock. Annabel Brodie-Smith, communications director of the Association of Investment Companies, said it is easier for investment trusts to hold privately held companies, making them “a sensible option for DIY investors” and providing “a way of getting exposure before the crowds pile in when the company is listed on the stock market”.
Five investment trusts have disclosed Anthropic holdings as a percentage of assets. Baillie Gifford US Growth leads with 7.5%, followed by Schiehallion Fund at 7.3%, Scottish Mortgage at 2.6%, RIT Capital Partners at 0.2%, and Pantheon International at 0.1%. The data, sourced from the AIC and Morningstar, reflects the latest available published portfolio weights as of 2 June 2026.
Anthropic is structured as a Delaware Public Benefit Corporation, a for-profit entity legally required to balance stockholder interests with its stated public benefit purpose: “the responsible development and maintenance of advanced AI for the long-term benefit of humanity”. It has also established a Long-Term Benefit Trust, an independent body holding a special class of shares that can override certain decisions if the company deviates from its safety mission. The company was founded in 2021 by former OpenAI researchers Dario Amodei, now chief executive, and his sister Daniela Amodei, now president.
While the stock is widely expected to list on the Nasdaq exchange, the exact timing remains subject to SEC review and market conditions. Anthropic, OpenAI and SpaceX are being touted as the three landmark listings of 2026, changing the playbook for IPOs and prompting index providers to facilitate their inclusion in benchmark indices.
