The news
The Anthropic IPO prospectus shows revenue rising 12-fold in 2025 to nearly $4.6 billion alongside a $42 billion net loss, Reuters reported on September 28 after reviewing the document, as the Claude maker prepares a listing that could value it above $2 trillion.
According to Reuters, about $34 billion of the net loss was a non-cash accounting charge tied to financing that can convert into equity: as the estimated value of those instruments rose, Anthropic booked the increase as a cost. Setting aside writedowns of liabilities that mainly stem from past funding rounds, the operating loss exceeded $8 billion. Compute and infrastructure spending reached $7.33 billion in 2025, triple the 2024 level and more than half of total operating expenses of $12.65 billion. Cash, equivalents and short-term investments stood at $20.28 billion at year-end.
The prospectus also sets out $518 billion in cloud, computing and infrastructure obligations, Reuters reported. In its risk factors, Anthropic said two customers accounted for nearly a quarter of 2025 revenue and cautioned that many of its biggest buyers have no long-term commitment, so they could reduce their spending or walk away.
Anthropic said on June 1 that it had confidentially submitted a draft registration statement to the Securities and Exchange Commission, with the number of shares and price not yet set. Reuters has previously reported, citing sources, that the debut is likely to come after the November U.S. midterm elections. The expected valuation is more than double the roughly $965 billion Anthropic was estimated to be worth in May.
Anthropic is also proposing to reset governance. TechCrunch, citing The Information, reported on September 25 that Anthropic is asking shareholders to approve special shares giving CEO Dario Amodei and his six co-founders a combined 50.1% of the vote on most matters, as long as at least three keep a minimum stake. The company's Long-Term Benefit Trust would still choose most board members, and the founders' board seats would rise from two to three.
The numbers
- 2025 revenue
- Nearly $4.6 billion (up 12-fold)
- 2025 net loss
- $42 billion, incl. ~$34 billion non-cash charge
- 2025 compute and infrastructure spend
- $7.33 billion
- Cloud, compute and infrastructure obligations
- $518 billion
- Cash, equivalents and short-term investments (Dec. 31, 2025)
- $20.28 billion
- Founders' proposed combined voting power
- 50.1%
Why CEOs should care
For companies that buy Claude, the filing turns vendor risk into numbers you can read. Anthropic is growing fast but spending heavily, and it has committed to enormous future compute purchases. Procurement teams should use the listing window to negotiate protections that outlast any strategy change: price caps or notice periods on rate increases, guaranteed access to specific model versions, data-portability terms and exit assistance. Our read: once Anthropic is public, pressure to improve margins could show up in pricing and packaging, so it pays to lock in terms now.
Customer concentration cuts both ways. If two customers supplied nearly a quarter of revenue, the largest buyers hold real leverage, while smaller accounts have less. CFOs at mid-sized customers should ask whether they can join group purchasing, commit through a cloud marketplace where they already have spending commitments, or pair Anthropic with a second model provider to keep bargaining power.
Boards and investors should separate the headline loss from the operating picture. The $34 billion charge is an accounting effect tied to financing, while the operating loss of more than $8 billion and the $7.33 billion compute bill reflect real cash needs. If approved, the proposed founder voting control, combined with the Long-Term Benefit Trust's role in choosing most board members, would leave public shareholders with limited influence over strategy.
The bigger picture
Anthropic's listing would give Wall Street a detailed look at the economics of a frontier AI lab, and Reuters noted it could become a benchmark for valuing rivals including OpenAI, which confidentially filed for an IPO in June and is expected by media reports to list by early 2027. That benchmark will ripple into private-market valuations, employee equity and M&A pricing across the AI sector, and into how investors judge the enormous infrastructure commitments that sit behind every major model provider. For enterprise buyers, the same scrutiny will extend to every AI supplier whose prices depend on how quickly those investments pay off.
What’s next
The next milestones are a public version of the registration statement with full financials, SEC review, and the shareholder vote on the founders' voting shares, which TechCrunch said was expected within days of its September 25 report. Watch for the exchange, ticker, underwriters and price range, none of which Anthropic has confirmed, and for how the company describes the timing of its $518 billion in obligations.
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