Anthropic Goes Public: Inside the S-1

5 years ago, Anthropic didn't even exist. Today, Anthropic's stock is about to become public and is on pace to become one of the most valuable companies on the stock market. How is this possible?

Background

When a private firm decides to sell its stock publicly for the first time, this happens through a process called an initial public offering (IPO). Before that, this requires filling out a document called an S-1, which explains the company's revenues, potential risks, and its management (who runs the company). This document is key for investors as it gives them a first-hand glimpse of the company to find out about it.

On October 26, 2026, Anthropic, an AI firm that created Claude, submitted an S-1 filing. As early as November 16th, this company is set to be publicly traded on the NASDAQ under the name "ANT". As of currently, the prices of the shares are unknown, but there are reports that the company can be worth up to $2 trillion. That would make Anthropic one of the most valuable companies in the world. This filing leads to two major questions: How does Anthropic generate and allocate its money? And who runs this company after its shares become available to the public?

Anthropic Overview

Anthropic was founded by seven co-founders, such as CEO Dario Amodei and his sister, President Daniela Amodei. Anthropic's revenues are earned giving access to people and companies to Claude. Individuals pay for this as well as corporations that integrate Claude into their own applications. One of the most popular products of Anthropic is Claude Code, a software development platform that helps programmers execute daily tasks.

The vast majority of revenue for Anthropic is provided by corporations. By the end of September 2026, more than 11,900 companies were purchasing Anthropic services starting from $100,000 annually and about 250 companies were purchasing it starting from $10 million annually. The main rival of Anthropic, OpenAI, which created ChatGPT, has reportedly postponed their IPO to next year. This means that Anthropic will be the first major AI company to test the appetites of ordinary investors and see how much of the public buys in.

Growth vs. Spending

Anthropic has been experiencing impressive sales growth. In the first half of 2026, the company generated revenues totaling $16.3 billion, compared to $1.2 billion during the same period last year, which is about a growth of 14x. For the full year of 2025, Anthropic generated $4.6 billion. In addition, in the third quarter of 2026 alone, the company stated that it earned revenues amounting to $16.8 billion.

On the surface, Anthropic losses appear staggering, with the firm reporting a net loss of $80.7 billion for the first 6 months of 2026. However, a significant portion of the loss was "paper loss" - about $72 billion. In raising capital through loans convertible into equity, Anthropic recorded an increase in the value of the loans as its market capitalization grew, and the gain is counted as a loss. Excluding that portion, for the first six months of the year, Anthropic recorded a net loss of $693 million, compared to a loss of $2.1 billion in the corresponding period last year. Anthropic is getting closer towards making a profit.

The most significant cost is computing. Artificial intelligence requires enormous amounts of computing chips and data centers to operate. Anthropic has already invested $9 billion in computing in the first 6 months of 2026, which is about 4 times as it had invested a year earlier. At the same time, the company has stated that it intends to invest at least $518 billion in computing for the coming decade. However, that can only be done if there is rapid growth in sales, and the filing itself admits the company "may not achieve or sustain profitability in the future."

Who Has Control?

For most publicly held companies, each share of stock carries one voting power. As the ownership percentage increases, voting powers increase as well. Anthropic has chosen another strategy since it is a "public benefit corporation." This means that the organization is legally obligated to pursue objectives alongside profits. The company's purpose is the responsible development of artificial intelligence "for the long-term benefit of humanity."

The controlling stake will be divided into 3 parties following the IPO. First, the seven co-founders will hold a unique share with the right to 50.1% of all votes from shareholders. The proportion is fixed, so no matter how many shares Anthropic issues, the founding team will have ultimate control over shareholders' votes. Second, the Long-Term Benefit Trust is entitled to elect the majority of the company's directors. This was established in 2023 in order to guarantee focus on the mission. The organization will not earn any profits from the company as it only appoints the board of directors. Third, the regular investors that purchase stocks from the IPO get one vote for each share. The regular investors stand to earn profits when the company is performing well, but they cannot outvote the founders. Anthropic claims that this arrangement allows the firm to concentrate its efforts on AI safety. The critics argue that this system leaves the regular investors with virtually no control over a company that has admitted its technology to be dangerous.

Weighing the Case

The most enthusiastic investors of Anthropic point towards its rapid growth. Billions of additional dollars in sales are being generated every couple of months, while the loss from the core business has shrunk and more big companies are investing in Claude. All of that, if continued, could potentially turn out to be beneficial for the money Anthropic spends on computing and will be paid back in the end.

The conservative side highlights the price and the risks involved. Some investors feel that the valuation of Anthropic should be at around $1.5 trillion instead of $2 trillion and were caught off guard by the slowdown in the company's growth in this year's third quarter. According to Jacob Bourne of Emarketer, other AI companies have not gone public due to concerns of high costs, profitability issues, and AI safety. Additionally, any investor who purchases the stock will have little to no control over Anthropic's management.

The Anthropic IPO is bigger than a company in itself. The IPO is going to demonstrate what investors are looking for in AI companies and if they are okay with having ownership with a lack of control.