Global Market: Anthropic presses ahead with November IPO as AI listings face delays

Anthropic is moving ahead with its IPO plans as other AI infrastructure companies delay listings amid market uncertainty.

The AI startup could make its prospectus public as early as late October and is expected to begin marketing its shares to prospective investors during the week of November 9, people familiar with the matter told Reuters. The timeline remains subject to change.

Anthropic's planned IPO will test whether its position at the centre of the rapidly expanding AI industry can attract strong investor demand despite mounting pressure on technology valuations. Some investors believe the company could command a valuation of as much as $1.5 trillion.

While several companies operating in AI infrastructure and data centres have postponed or shelved their listing plans, Anthropic is continuing to prepare for its market debut. The contrast highlights the company's appeal to investors seeking exposure to leading AI developers even as concerns about the industry's capital requirements intensify.

AI IPO pipeline shrinks amid market volatility

The IPO market for AI infrastructure and data centre companies has faced increasing headwinds since September, as higher interest rates and volatile markets have made it more difficult for issuers to secure attractive valuations.

Data centre operator Switch and AI infrastructure provider Nscale have pushed their IPO plans to later this year, people familiar with the matter told Reuters. Nscale's delay was partly driven by the need to address comments from staff at the US Securities and Exchange Commission, one of the people said.

SoftBank-backed SB Energy has also postponed its listing.

South Korean AI chip startup Elice was among the latest companies to shelve its listing plans. Blackstone-backed AirTrunk REIT and Nvidia-backed Firmus have also withdrawn or paused their offerings.

The delays reflect growing investor caution towards businesses that require substantial upfront capital to build data centres and AI infrastructure, particularly as questions mount over whether future revenues will justify the scale of investment.

Anthropic attracts investor interest despite sector concerns

Despite the turbulence, Anthropic continues to attract interest from large investors seeking exposure to the AI industry. Some institutional investors view the company as one of the few opportunities to invest directly in a sector expected to remain central to long-term technology growth.

Other prospective issuers are reluctant to compete with Anthropic for institutional investors' attention and capital. However, Anthropic faces its own challenges, including competition from open-source AI models and concerns about AI safety. Its prospective valuation will depend on investors' assessment of its growth prospects, competitive position and ability to translate demand for AI into sustainable business performance.

Investor demand and AI spending under scrutiny

Oura's recent IPO experience has added to the cautious mood among prospective issuers. The offering attracted limited participation from long-only investors, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters, raising questions about the depth of institutional demand for newly listed technology companies.

Long-only investors are often viewed as an important source of stable shareholder demand following an IPO, making their participation a key consideration for companies planning to go public.

Meanwhile, developments involving AI infrastructure provider CoreWeave have added to concerns about a possible slowdown in AI spending. Some market participants, however, do not expect such a downturn to materialise.

The broader retreat from AI infrastructure listings reflects investor scrutiny of the enormous capital expenditure required to expand data centre capacity and uncertainty over whether demand will continue to grow rapidly enough to support current valuations.

Nscale publicly filed its IPO registration statement in September, while Switch filed confidentially. Confidential filings allow companies to work with regulators on their registration documents before making financial and business details public.

Companies typically disclose their prospectuses ahead of investor roadshows, when they begin marketing shares to prospective buyers.

Anthropic's planned offering will test whether investor appetite for leading AI developers can remain resilient even as market conditions become increasingly challenging for the wider AI infrastructure sector.