Anthropic, the Claude chatbot developer, disclosed plans for a blockbuster US stock market listing while warning that artificial intelligence could pose "catastrophic or existential risks to humanity" if not developed with proper safeguards.
The company's valuation is expected to exceed SpaceX's record initial valuation of about $1.8 trillion. Anthropic will list on Nasdaq under the symbol ANT, becoming the first fully AI-focused company to go public. The firm has not yet disclosed share numbers, price ranges or a listing date.
Anthropic reported $16.3 billion in revenue for the first half of the year but posted losses exceeding $80.7 billion. In its regulatory filing, the company acknowledged that policymakers, regulators, researchers and staff have raised concerns that advanced AI systems could pose significant risks to humanity if misused, weaponised or allowed to operate with high autonomy.
The filing detailed potential threats to Anthropic's competitiveness. The company relies on a concentrated cluster of cloud computing providers, Taiwanese chipmakers facing huge demand, and US-based data centres. Anthropic also warned of potential regulatory action arising from harms associated with its AI models, citing concerns about use by children and individuals at risk of suicide.
Anthropic co-founder and chief executive Dario Amodei founded the company five years ago alongside his sister Daniela and five others. The firm announced its listing intention in June, prompting rival OpenAI to announce plans to go public, expected early next year.
The company simultaneously promoted AI's potential benefits, envisioning it could revolutionise multiple fields, "profoundly accelerate progress in biology and medicine" by potentially finding cures for cancer and Alzheimer's, and establish sustained economic growth through productivity gains.
Matt Orton, chief market strategist at Raymond James Investment, told the BBC that investors expected rapid growth alongside rapid losses, making Monday's filing unsurprising. Peter Andersen, founder of Andersen Capital Management, told Reuters the listing represented "a significant milestone" and its outcome would be "fairly indicative" of investor sentiment toward continued AI funding.
The announcement coincided with owners of Elvis Presley's music rights suing Anthropic for allegedly using hundreds of the singer's songs to train Claude.