Major investors are increasingly doubtful that Anthropic can float at the $1.5 trillion valuation it had been expected to command, after this week's rout in technology shares, with some now discussing a price as low as $1.2 trillion.

The valuation slide

Anthropic, the artificial-intelligence company behind the Claude chatbot, had been aiming to stage its initial public offering in the week before Thanksgiving and was expected to raise up to $100 billion in an offering valuing the company at around $1.5 trillion. But three major investors who plan to take part in the IPO told The Wall Street Journal the valuation will likely need to come down, with one saying it could be closer to $1 trillion. Bloomberg reported on Friday that some prospective buyers are now discussing $1.2 trillion to $1.3 trillion, down from the $1.4 trillion to $1.5 trillion range communicated to underwriting banks after the company's October briefing — and well below figures of up to $2 trillion talked about in early October.

What the filings show

No valuation has been set, and Anthropic has not announced any change to its timetable. Its amended filing of 2 November leaves the price range and share count blank, and it left its October revenue figure blank too. The company reported third-quarter revenue of about $17 billion, up from $11.6 billion in the prior quarter, and its revenue run rate topped $80 billion at the end of October, according to a person familiar with the matter cited by the Journal. Anthropic held $146.6 billion in cash at 30 September. Its last confirmed valuation is $965 billion, set by a $65 billion funding round in May.

Roadshow doubts

Potential investors are also questioning whether Anthropic can begin its IPO roadshow in the week of 9 November and complete a November listing, four people familiar with investor discussions told Reuters. Some investors are waiting for the October revenue figure before deciding. Anthropic executives and advisers are expected to meet in the next few days to discuss the plans, and the company could decide to raise less money, perhaps around $80 billion, one investor told the Journal.

A wider chill

The doubts come as the AI trade cools more broadly. Rival OpenAI has raised less than half of the $30 billion it had targeted for its latest funding round, receiving $11 billion at a $1.25 trillion valuation, the Journal reported.