Anthropic, the AI developer behind Claude, has shared financial documents with select shareholders as it prepares for a potential Nasdaq IPO that could value the company at $2 trillion or more. The company reported $11.5 billion in second-quarter revenue, a 14-fold annual increase, with its annualized revenue reaching $65 billion by July.
Anthropic’s revenue has become a central factor in the artificial intelligence company’s potential Nasdaq initial public offering. The Claude developer is preparing investors for a listing that could value the five-year-old company at $2 trillion or more.
Anthropic was valued at about $965 billion earlier this year, while its annualized revenue reached $65 billion by July. The company reportedly generated $11.5 billion in second-quarter revenue, representing a 14-fold increase from a year earlier, with positive adjusted operating income for a second consecutive quarter.
The company has reportedly shared financial documents with a small group of shareholders before releasing its prospectus publicly. This approach allows prospective investors to ask questions before wider disclosure, according to people familiar with the company’s preparations.
Anthropic has selected Nasdaq as the exchange for its potential listing, having confidentially filed its IPO prospectus in June. Its gross margins exceed 80% before revenue-sharing arrangements with distribution partners such as Amazon and model training costs, according to people familiar with its finances.
The financial performance comes as CEO Dario Amodei has encouraged the industry to slow AI model development, including giving third-party reviewers more access and establishing similar safety standards among frontier firms. The timing creates a complex issue for shareholders, as slower development could lower training costs but also allow competitors to catch up.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman agreed with Amodei about slowing development, stating that OpenAI will stay private in 2026 despite filing IPO paperwork in June. Altman called 2026 an inappropriate year to go public due to increased safety concerns.
Anthropic’s annualized revenue increased from $9 billion at the end of last year to $65 billion in July. The company entered major computing deals with Google, AMD, Nscale, and SpaceX, making its development plans important to semiconductor providers.
Analysts remain divided on whether Amodei’s position could affect the IPO. Some suggest investors may not see this negatively if commercial development proceeds, while others caution that safety concerns might lead to valuation discounts.
The conversation has implications for the broader tech industry, as frontier AI builders make up a significant portion of infrastructure investments. A significant slowdown in model development could impact demand for chips, data centers, and cloud computing, making Anthropic’s spending plans a key focus for investors.
