Wall Street pushes Anthropic and OpenAI to hold IPOs before year-end

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 23 Oct, 17:20 · Archive

Wall Street is encouraging AI companies Anthropic and OpenAI to launch initial public offerings before the end of 2024.

Wall Street investors are encouraging Anthropic and OpenAI to launch initial public offerings before the end of 2024. According to Wall Street deal lawyers, the concern is that a Democratic-controlled Congress could subject the companies to years of congressional hearings, investigations and regulatory scrutiny over issues including AI-related job losses and deepfakes. "We're advising that people do their IPOs before the end of the year before things get crazy," one major Wall Street deal lawyer told the New York Post.

Anthropicsources indicate the company could file its offering statement, known as an S-1, imminently and is targeting an IPO before Thanksgiving. OpenAI's situation differs: CEO Sam Altman stated last month the company is not planning to go public until next year, citing AI safety as a priority. An OpenAI spokesperson reiterated that the company has not set a timeline for an IPO and will not go public this year. Anthropic declined to comment on the reports.

Anthropicis expected to launch at a valuation as high as $2 trillion, meaning early investors stand to profit substantially. TechCrunch reports that at the company's latest private valuation of $965 billion, major backers including Eric Schmidt (worth nearly $10 billion in his stake), Iconiq (stake worth $17 billion) and Menlo Ventures (stake worth $14 billion) are already sitting on significant paper gains. Meta is also planning a major secondary stock offering in coming months to fund its AI expansion.

How it is being reported

• What some of Anthropic’s backers are reportedly worth before its IPOEarly-stage and follow-on investors in the AI lab are already sitting on major paper returns.TechCrunch · 23 Oct, 17:02
• Wall Street urging Anthropic, OpenAI to do their IPOs this year ‘before things get crazy’ — here’s whyThe reasons go well beyond the risks of an AI bubble.New York Post · 23 Oct, 12:00

In this story: Anthropic · OpenAI · Sam Altman · Eric Schmidt · Meta · Wall Street · Congress · Sequoia

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