Fortune reported on August 13 that Anthropic plans to go public in October 2026 with a valuation of $2 trillion, making it the largest IPO in history, surpassing SpaceX. As a reference, Elon Musk's SpaceX completed its IPO on June 12 this year, with a market value of approximately $1.77 trillion based on an offering price of $135 per share, setting a record for the largest U.S. stock market listing. If Anthropic proceeds as planned, this AI company, only a few years old, will snatch the title of "largest IPO" from the rocket giant within four months.
Industry sources indicate that Anthropic has already submitted confidential IPO-related documents to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and is currently in a quiet period, restricted by regulations from disclosing its financial performance. This arrangement corroborates recent media reports about "confidentially submitting a listing application," and also provides credibility to the October listing timeline.
Strong models and rapidly growing revenue support a $2 trillion valuation
Anthropic's confidence in a $2 trillion valuation stems from dual breakthroughs in products and commercialization. This year, the company has continuously launched multiple models that outperform competitors, while focusing on enterprise customer sales, shifting its growth engine from consumer subscriptions to higher-value B-side markets. In May, Anthropic announced that its annualized revenue had exceeded $47 billion, a figure slightly higher than OpenAI's estimated $40 billion for the same period.
In the race to go public among the two AI giants, Anthropic clearly chose a "pre-emptive" strategy - unlike OpenAI, which is still private and has been repurchasing shares at $7 billion to appease employees and prepare for an IPO, Anthropic has set its IPO date for autumn. If the $2 trillion valuation is ultimately realized, it will not only reshape capital market expectations for AI companies but also mean that investors are willing to pay a premium for "safer Claude" and its enterprise-level narrative, far exceeding traditional tech giants. This wave of listings ignited by large models is pushing the Silicon Valley valuation game to unprecedented heights.
