Potential investors in Anthropic’s high-profile Initial Public Offering (IPO) are raising serious doubts about whether the artificial intelligence startup can proceed with its planned roadshow next week also putting a target November listing in jeopardy.
According to sources familiar with investor discussions the fund managers are pushing for a lower valuation before committing capital. Many view the recently discussed $1.5 trillion valuation as overly ambitious, particularly amid the sharpest technology stock selloff in over a year and heightened geopolitical uncertainty.
Anthropic had been expected to launch its investor roadshow during the week of November 9 with share pricing scheduled for the following week. However the market observers say the company may need to offer a significant discount to secure buy-in, given its heavy quarterly losses and extensive financial commitments to AI infrastructure partners.
Investors are also closely monitoring Anthropic’s undisclosed October revenue figure left blank in its latest regulatory filing to determine whether growth has resumed after a recent slowdown.
Wall Street and Silicon Valley were abuzz following a steep two-day market selloff triggered in part by the outcome of Tuesday’s US midterm elections. State-level ballot measures limiting data center developments have added political pressure to growing economic anxiety around the AI sector.
A delay by Anthropic—one of the industry's premier players could send negative ripple effects across global stock markets. The broader equity market remains heavily dependent on mega-cap tech valuations which could face further pressure if Anthropic struggles to execute its offering, once projected to seek up to $2 trillion.
Despite recent market headwinds, retail investor interest in pioneer tech firms remains strong. Market analysts note that while private-market valuations are adjusting, long-term institutional and retail backing for market-leading AI ventures remains intact.
Beyond valuation negotiations, broader market stability will dictate timing. The tech sector has underperformed the S&P 500 by over 10% past month the sharpest relative decline since 2002. Volatility has hit infrastructure providers particularly hard while credit default swap spreads on debt-heavy tech firms reached record highs.
If market turbulence persists the Anthropic may choose to defer its multi-billion-dollar listing until conditions stabilize.
