One Astonishing Element in Anthropic’s Prospectus That Investors Shouldn’t Ignore

Anthropic may be the next supersized initial public offering on the stock market agenda. Though the artificial intelligence (AI) lab hasn't yet set a date, the company just publicly filed its prospectus, taking it a step closer to such an operation.

Investors and analysts have previously spoken of a valuation topping $1.5 trillion, putting the company on par with the recent IPO of Space Exploration Technologies. SpaceX completed the world's biggest market debut back in June, entering with a valuation topping $2 trillion. To put the levels into perspective, we can consider today's tech giants, from Nvidia to Microsoft, which took years of trading on the public market before reaching trillion-dollar market capitalizations.

Now, you may be wondering if you should participate in this upcoming monster-sized IPO or even pick up shares once they begin trading. Before you make a decision, consider one astonishing element in Anthropic's prospectus — it's a crucial point that investors shouldn't ignore.

Image source: Getty Images.

From OpenAI to Anthropic

First, though, let's take a quick look at the Anthropic story. This AI lab was founded five years ago by Dario Amodei, his sister Daniela Amodei, and a small group of researchers. They had been working at rival OpenAI before launching their own operation. Anthropic developed the popular AI model Claude and saw its revenue soar from about zero to multi-billion-dollar levels in about three years.

In the prospectus, Anthropic offered its latest figures. The AI company said revenue roared higher by more than 1,300% over the six months ending June 30 to more than $16 billion. Revenue last year rose 1,000% to $4.5 billion. This is supercharged by various elements, from the popularity of Claude Code, which has reached a $1 billion annual revenue run rate, to its strength in bringing on board corporate clients. For example, more than 50% of Fortune 500 companies each generate at least $100,000 for Anthropic on a 12-month trailing basis. And this opportunity may be in its early days, considering that this represents less than 0.1% of these companies' total expenses, according to the Anthropic prospectus.

Anthropic's cash burn

Of course, Anthropic invests a considerable amount in research and development to power this revenue, and that's contributed to losses year after year. In the six-month period I just referred to, the loss came in at more than $80 billion. Though $72 billion of this is a non-cash accounting charge, leaving cash burn at a little over $8 billion, this still represents risk.

And speaking of risk, let's now zoom in on the major point to consider before buying Anthropic, and this is the corporate governance structure, one that the company itself even says has "no direct public company precedent."

Five classes of Anthropic shares

Anthropic will have five classes of shares, including the Class A common stock offered to the public. These shares come with one vote per share. Class E shares, offered to employees, offer one vote per share on limited matters. Classes N and T also have limited voting rights. Now here's the point to consider: Class F shares, belonging to founders, come with "an aggregate number of votes that represents 50.1% of the total voting power of our outstanding shares."

How will all of this impact shareholders? Anthropic's governance structure means shareholders won't have much say in certain important areas of corporate business or in key decisions. Instead, Anthropic founders and the Long-term Benefit Trust (LTBT) will. The LTBT's mission to prioritize the safe use of AI is positive -- and it's understandable that the entity has a certain amount of control to see this through. But, as a result of this structure, holders of ordinary shares can't truly decide on key issues such as a possible merger proposal or the removal of a director -- issues that may significantly impact stock performance.

"Holders of our Class A common stock generally will not be able to affect the outcome of any matter submitted to a vote of our stockholders or the election of our directors, regardless of how they vote," Anthropic said in its prospectus.

All of this means that if you invest in Anthropic, you may greatly benefit from any potential stock price gains -- but if you would like to influence a particular decision, you may not have the power to do so. During good times, this might not seem important, but it could be a significant negative for shareholders in more difficult moments.

Though an investment in Anthropic might be right for some investors, it's important to consider this point and be comfortable with it before rushing to buy shares of this AI giant.

Adria Cimino has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Microsoft and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.