Anthropic's $1.5 trillion IPO hits resistance as investors balk at valuation

Anthropic's IPO is in trouble as investors push back on the $1.5 trillion valuation and the tech market sells off. According to Reuters, potential backers doubt the planned roadshow can kick off next week as scheduled. As recently as September, the company was eyeing a valuation of up to $2 trillion. Now some investors think even $1.5 trillion is too rich. One investor reportedly floated a valuation of just $1 trillion. Investors want a steeper discount because Anthropic is still losing money and burning through cash to scale its AI infrastructure. They're also waiting on October revenue numbers, which are missing from the updated S-1 filing. The midterm elections made things worse. Ballot initiatives targeting data center expansion passed in several states, triggering the sharpest tech selloff in a year. The Wall Street Journal also reports that IPO investors are skeptical. If AI stocks stay under pressure, Anthropic could delay the offering, which some estimates peg at up to $100 billion in size. A delay could further shake confidence in the broader AI sector. Subscribe to THE DECODER for ad-free reading, a weekly AI newsletter, our exclusive "AI Radar" frontier report six times a year, full archive access, and access to our comment section.