AI backlash could threaten Anthropic IPO timing, potential investors say

NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO, Nov 5 (Reuters) - Potential investors in Anthropic's highly anticipated IPO are raising doubts about ​whether the artificial intelligence startup can proceed with its planned roadshow next week in time for a November listing, four people familiar with investor discussions said.

Investors are pushing ‌for a more attractive valuation to commit to the offering, with some viewing the recently discussed $1.5 trillion valuation as being at the high end of expectations, the people told Reuters.

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The discussions reflect in part the impact of the sharpest technology stocks selloff in a year and geopolitical uncertainty clouding the outlook for new offerings.

Anthropic declined to comment on investor doubts.

The roadshow was initially expected to kick off the week of November 9, Reuters previously reported, with pricing expected the following week.

Anthropic ​may need to offer a bigger discount to secure investor commitments, particularly as investors recognize the company's need to raise capital given a record of quarterly losses and the large commitments ​it has made to partners in the AI buildout, the people said.

Investors are also eagerly awaiting Anthropic's October revenue figure, which the company left blank ⁠in its updated S-1 filing, to assess whether the AI lab has managed to boost growth after a slowdown in recent months, two of the people said.

Wall Street and Silicon Valley were abuzz on ​Thursday with questions about whether the company would move forward, in the wake of the two-day AI market selloff following Tuesday’s US midterm elections.

A decision to delay the offering would likely fuel further concern over ​the health of the AI ecosystem at a time when the success of ballot efforts in many states limiting data center development has crystallized political opposition to data centers and other aspects of AI.

An Anthropic delay could also pose a threat to the broader stock market, which is heavily weighted toward large technology firms whose valuations would likely be squeezed by any sense that Anthropic, one of the highest-profile AI firms, is finding it difficult to raise funds.

At one ​point this year its IPO was expected by investors to take place in October and to seek a valuation as high as $2 trillion.

"It's not like these companies are not going to be a ‌part of ⁠the future," said Rick Meckler, partner at Cherry Lane Investments, a family investment office in New Vernon, New Jersey. "They're going to become public. Investors are still going to have a lot of interest in them. Valuations have risen for a long time in the private market, and we'll probably see some pullback."

Even if Anthropic and its investors get together on a valuation, as Wall Street currently expects, other factors could determine whether the company chooses to move forward with the IPO by year-end.

If the market for AI-related assets remains under pressure, the company could decide to delay the offering until the market looks more resilient ​and likely to smoothly digest an offering that ​is expected by some to reach $100 billion, the ⁠people familiar with investor discussions said.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday evening that IPO investors are skeptical Anthropic can achieve $1.5 trillion in valuation in a public listing.

MARKET ROUT TESTS AI CONFIDENCE

Trading was anything but smooth on Thursday, fueled by the outcome this week at the polls but also by corporate developments and ​increasing market anxiety.

More than 50 S&P 1500 technology stocks dropped by 10% or more, and Vanda Research said retail selling was ⁠the strongest it ​has been since the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We are now seeing something of a buyers' strike in tech," said Keith Lerner, chief investment ​officer at Truist Advisory Services in Atlanta. Tech has underperformed the S&P 500 by 10.7% over the past month, the most extreme one-month underperformance since May 2002, Lerner said.

He described the selling so far as uncomfortable but not abnormal, while adding, "the rubber ​band is getting stretched."

Reporting by Echo Wang and Milana Vinn in New York, Krystal Hu in San Francisco; additional reporting by Caroline Valetkevitch and Chuck Mikolajczak; Editing by Colin Barr, Jonathan Spicer and Christopher Cushing

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Echo Wang runs coverage of corporate dealmaking across the U.S. for Reuters, leading a team that breaks market-moving news on the biggest deals in corporate America. Her own reporting spans M&A, IPOs and enterprise investigations, and was the first to report exclusives on some of the largest initial public offerings on record, including 2026's SpaceX and Anthropic, as well as major transactions such as SpaceX’s acquisition of xAI. She has also led Reuters’s coverage of deals involving TikTok and Grindr, and investigations into the financing behind Truth Social. Echo began her career as a travel writer for Lonely Planet and has worked on NPR’s The Indicator podcast, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, and Le Monde. She joined Reuters in 2019 as an Overseas Press Club Foundation Fellow after completing her master's degree at Columbia Journalism School.

Krystal reports on venture capital and startups for Reuters. She covers Silicon Valley and beyond through the lens of money and characters, with a focus on growth-stage startups, tech investments and AI. She has previously covered M&A for Reuters, breaking stories on Trump's SPAC and Elon Musk's Twitter financing. Previously, she reported on Amazon for Yahoo Finance, and her investigation of the company's retail practice was cited by lawmakers in Congress. Krystal started a career in journalism by writing about tech and politics in China. She has a master's degree from New York University, and enjoys a scoop of Matcha ice cream as much as getting a scoop at work.

Milana Vinn reports on technology, media, and telecom (TMT) mergers and acquisitions. Her content usually appears in the markets and deals sections of the website. Milana previously worked at GLG and PE Hub, where she spent several years covering TMT deals in private equity. She graduated from CUNY Graduate School of Journalism with Masters in Business Journalism.