Venture investors look to Anthropic's IPO as a sign cash will flow back

what happened

Anthropic is finally moving ahead with its long-delayed initial public offering, and venture investors along with their limited partners see it as a possible turning point after a long stretch with little cash coming back. According to the Wall Street Journal, the AI company is only five years old, yet its listing comes at a huge scale, unlike SpaceX, which listed in June roughly 24 years after its founding.

PitchBook data cited by the paper show that hundreds of venture funds hold Anthropic shares, including Spark Capital, Menlo Ventures and Lightspeed Venture Partners. In its S-1 filing released on Monday, the company reported $16.3 billion in revenue for the first six months of this year, compared with $1.2 billion a year earlier.

The offering is expected before Thanksgiving, although markets are jittery over rising rates, upcoming elections and public pushback against data centers. The filing also warns of risks, including a potentially uninsurable 'catastrophic AI-related event'.

why it matters

For markets, large inflows could go to older venture funds and their backers, easing a liquidity squeeze that has lasted much of the decade. Analysts quoted by the WSJ expect the deal to fuel enthusiasm for AI valuations, which some already compare to earlier bubbles. Until the listing is done, one industry voice told the paper, other tech offerings are effectively on hold.

market impact

IPO market and AI stocks: a smooth Anthropic listing could support appetite for tech offerings and risk-taking around AI valuations.

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