Anthropic Targets November IPO Amid AI Slowdown Debate

Anthropic is planning an initial public offering for November, pushing back from an earlier October target to showcase third-quarter financial results, according to people familiar with the matter cited by Olhar Digital. The company aims for a valuation near $2 trillion and hopes to raise up to $100 billion, which would surpass records set by SpaceX.

The timeline coincides with a public debate triggered by CEO Dario Amodei, who published a 3,800-word essay on September 12 arguing that current AI risks are too great for development to continue at its accelerated pace. His call for an industry-wide slowdown drew support from OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.

“We must slow the pace at which we improve the capabilities of AI models.”

Meanwhile, Anthropic is considering releasing a new AI model ahead of the IPO to counter competitive pressure from OpenAI's GPT-6 Astra, launched September 3, which has gained strong traction among enterprise users, Rappler reports. Sources say the company is evaluating the safety of its next model while balancing investment in new releases with profitability demands from investors focused on returns amid rising interest rates.

Anthropic plans to meet with potential investors in the coming days to gauge interest. Some investors are reportedly questioning how a slower release cadence might affect the company's finances and targeted valuation.