Key takeaways
- Anthropic investors discuss a $1.5 trillion IPO valuation
- Quarterly revenue growth slows despite reaching $16.8 billion
- Potential valuation difference reaches $500 billion before listing
Anthropic's potential IPO valuation is facing a $500 billion reassessment as some investors question whether the Claude developer can sustain its extraordinary revenue growth ahead of a planned November stock market debut.
According to Reuters' October 15 investigation, current and prospective investors discussed valuing Anthropic at approximately $1.5 trillion following a private presentation in San Francisco.
Anthropic's Revenue Hits $16.8 Billion, but Growth Slows
Anthropic disclosed third-quarter revenue of $16.8 billion, compared with $11.6 billion in the second quarter and approximately $4.7 billion in the first.
That represents a $5.2 billion quarterly increase, demonstrating continued demand for Claude and its enterprise AI products.
However, the pace of expansion has slowed considerably.
Revenue grew approximately 147% between the first and second quarters, followed by 45% growth between the second and third quarters.
The slowdown does not mean Anthropic's business is shrinking. Instead, it illustrates how maintaining exceptionally high percentage growth becomes more difficult as revenue expands.
The latest results follow Anthropic's earlier $16.8 billion revenue disclosure, which initially highlighted the company's rapid commercial expansion.
Anthropic also reported adjusted profitability during the third quarter, offering evidence that its operating performance has improved despite heavy development costs.
Why Investors Are Questioning Anthropic's $2 Trillion Valuation
The debate centers on how much investors should pay for future growth.
At $2 trillion, Anthropic would be valued at approximately 29.8 times its third-quarter revenue annualized at $67.2 billion. A $1.5 trillion valuation would reduce that multiple to roughly 22.3 times.
Those figures are simplified valuation comparisons, not conventional price-to-sales ratios based on completed annual revenue.
The company also faces enormous infrastructure requirements.
Its previously disclosed computing expenses totaled approximately $7.3 billion in 2025, exceeding annual revenue of $4.6 billion.
Anthropic's planned expansion also involves substantial commitments to chips and cloud infrastructure, including a potential $42 billion financing arrangement involving Broadcom.
Investors must therefore weigh rapidly rising sales against the capital required to keep developing and operating advanced AI models.
Could Anthropic's IPO Repricing Affect Other AI Stocks?
Anthropic's valuation debate comes during a difficult period for technology shares.
Global technology funds recently recorded $4.75 billion in withdrawals, suggesting investors are becoming more selective about AI exposure.
The company's prospective IPO could become an important test of how public markets value AI developers compared with the chipmakers and cloud providers supplying their infrastructure.
A lower valuation would not necessarily signal collapsing demand for artificial intelligence. It could instead reflect investors requiring more conservative assumptions about future growth, competition and profitability.
Anthropic has not finalized its offering valuation or share price. Until those details become official, the reported $1.5 trillion figure remains an indication of changing investor expectations rather than a completed repricing.
