The Anthropic IPO May Be Right Around the Corner. Here’s What Investors Need to Know.

This year has been a major one for initial public offerings, even producing the biggest IPO on record: the Space Exploration Technologies operation. Including the exercise of an overallotment option, SpaceX raised more than $85 billion and entered the market with a trillion-dollar valuation.

Now, all eyes are focused on the next IPO, one that could be even larger than that of SpaceX. I'm talking about the upcoming Anthropic market debut. The artificial intelligence (AI) lab, maker of the famous AI assistant Claude, confidentially filed a draft registration statement with regulators in June. And news reports suggest an IPO may be right around the corner. Here's what investors need to know.

Image source: Getty Images.

Why IPOs spark excitement

So, first, a quick look at why the launch of companies involved in AI -- from SpaceX to AI chip designer Cerebras Systems -- has sparked excitement and drawn investors' attention. It's important to note that IPOs generally garner attention as they present new investing opportunities. On top of this, the AI market, heading toward a value of $3 trillion in just a few years, according to analysts, represents a massive growth opportunity.

Publicly traded AI leaders such as Nvidia and Amazon have seen revenue skyrocket in recent years, so investors are eager to get in on the next new AI story.

Now, let's consider Anthropic and what you as an investor need to know. The company is the maker of the Claude AI assistant, the popular Claude Code coding tool, and other AI-driven products, and these are in high demand. TechCrunch, citing an Anthropic spokesperson, reported that Claude paid subscriptions have more than doubled in 2026.

In May, Anthropic raised $65 billion in Series H funding, pushing its valuation to $965 billion. At the time, the company said its revenue run rate had surpassed $47 billion.

AI labs such as Anthropic and OpenAI have been key players in the AI story, calling for a ramp-up in AI infrastructure from cloud partners such as Amazon Web Services (AWS). This increase in compute results in higher revenue for them -- more compute allows Anthropic and OpenAI to supercharge the performance of their large language models and serve more customers.

Anthropic's confidential filing

In recent months, investors have been looking to the IPO plans of each company, and Anthropic became the first to file, confidentially, with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In a confidential filing, a company provides financial data to regulators but doesn't yet release these details to the public.

Anthropic hasn't offered an update on its plans, but The Information recently reported that a prospectus would be made public after the Labor Day holiday and that a market debut is planned for late this month or early next month. The publication cited people familiar with the situation.

According to the report, Anthropic expects to surpass the size of SpaceX's IPO. And several publications have said that Anthropic is targeting a valuation of $2 trillion.

The Information also said that Anthropic may allow existing shareholders to sell shares during the IPO. The positive is that this broadens the pool of available shares; the negative is that cash from those sales goes to the respective shareholders, not the company. And if key insiders sell, potential investors may view this as a lack of confidence in the future.

These elements offer us clues about what to expect, but it's important to review Anthropic's prospectus when it becomes available to confirm these and other details. Investors should focus on financial information, including revenue from Claude, gross margin, and the status of existing contracts. Investors should also pay close attention to what the company considers potential risks. This will help you determine whether an investment in this IPO stock is right for you -- an aggressive investor may make a different decision than a cautious investor.

So, right now, if you're interested in possibly participating in the Anthropic IPO, the best thing you can do is stay tuned for the official filing -- which may be just ahead -- and examine it carefully.

Adria Cimino has positions in Amazon. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.