Anthropic Is Aiming for a Record; Whoop Is Expanding Its Workforce: Key Takeaways on the IPO by August 16

Anthropic’s investors expect the AI company to go public as early as this fall with a valuation of at least $2 trillion, which would make its IPO the largest in history. Whoop, a fitness tracker maker valued at $10.1 billion, will expand its Boston headquarters and increase its workforce by 75% ahead of an IPO it plans to launch in about 18 months. Meanwhile, Bloomberg and Reuters reported on upcoming offerings in the data center sector: Vantage is considering an IPO to raise about $10 billion at a valuation of $100 billion, while DayOne has privately filed for a U.S. offering and could raise about $5 billion at a valuation of $20 billion. Check out our roundup of the week’s top events in the IPO market.

— Anthropic’s investors expect the AI startup to go public in October with a valuation of at least $2 trillion, which would break SpaceX’s record for the largest IPO in history, according to the Financial Times. According to FT sources, this valuation is supported by the company’s rapid growth: by the end of 2026, Anthropic’s annual revenue, based on current growth rates, could reach $100–120 billion, up from more than $47 billion in May. In May, Anthropic’s valuation reached $965 billion, surpassing OpenAI’s valuation for the first time. The final target for the IPO has not yet been determined, and investors cite competition from Chinese developers, the high cost of models, and the company’s conflict with U.S. authorities as risks.

— Bloomberg Intelligence valued Shein at $22–25 billion ahead of its IPO —below the company’s own target of $30–40 billion and less than half of its $66 billion valuation in 2023. Analysts expect that after a weak 2026 due to tariffs and rising shipping costs, Shein’s profit will rebound to $1.67 billion in 2027 and then grow by approximately 20% annually through 2029. In addition, the valuation is under pressure from slowing growth, regulatory risks, and the supply chain’s dependence on China. Reuters also reported, citing sources, that Shein may debut on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on August 28.

— OpenAI has reached annual revenue of more than $40 billion at current growth rates, roughly double the figure at the end of 2025, according to Bloomberg sources. Growth has accelerated thanks to AI programming tools, subscriptions, and a new advertising business: in July alone, revenue increased by more than 20% month-over-month. The company is preparing for an IPO and this week also completed a stock buyback of approximately $7 billion from current and former employees at a valuation of $852 billion.

— DeepSeek will more than quadruple the prices of its flagship V4 models starting August 16 as it prepares for a potential IPO. During peak hours, the cost of 1 million V4-Flash tokens will rise from $0.28 to $1.32, and for V4-Pro, from $0.87 to $3.96, though the services will remain significantly cheaper than those of its main competitors. The company explained the decision as a necessity to allocate computing resources more efficiently. DeepSeek is also preparing for an IPO later this year and has introduced the Harness platform for creating AI agents, which is intended to compete with Claude Code.

— Data center operator Vantage Data Centers is considering an IPO or a sale of the company as early as 2027, sources told Reuters. As part of the offering, Vantage could raise about $10 billion at a valuation of approximately $100 billion, which would make it the largest IPO in the industry’s history. The company, backed by Silver Lake and DigitalBridge, has so far held only preliminary discussions with financial advisors; the formal process has not yet begun.

— Singapore-based data center operator DayOne Data Centers has privately filed for an IPO in the U.S. and expects to go public as early as next quarter, according to Bloomberg sources. The company is looking to raise about $5 billion at a valuation of approximately $20 billion. In June, DayOne raised $4.5 billion in a funding round to expand its business in Asia and Europe. The offering is being prepared amid a boom in data center investments driven by growing demand for AI infrastructure.

— Whoop, a manufacturer of fitness trackers, plans to roughly double the size of its Boston headquarters and hire 600 employees this year, increasing its workforce by about 75%, according to Bloomberg. The company is strengthening its team to integrate AI into its products and drive international expansion. Whoop, valued at $10.1 billion in March, expects to go public in about 18 months, CEO Will Ahmed said.

— The IPO of Unitree, a Chinese manufacturer of humanoid robots, sparked a rush of demand: the retail portion of the offering was oversubscribed 5,526 times, with investors submitting bids totaling approximately $1.2 trillion, according to Bloomberg. The company sold $904 million worth of shares at a valuation of about $9 billion and plans to list on the Shanghai STAR Market in August. In 2025, Unitree’s revenue more than quadrupled to 1.7 billion yuan ($252 million), and the company shipped over 5,500 humanoid robots, ranking first in the world. Strategic investors include DeepSeek, Tencent, and affiliates of major Chinese state-owned enterprises.

— Pershing Square, the investment firm run by billionaire Bill Eckman, is launching Pershing Square Ventures, a fund that will give retail investors access to companies prior to their IPOs, Bloomberg reports, citing a letter from the businessman to shareholders. The fund will be able to retain its stakes even after the startups go public, and its initial portfolio will consist of existing private investments made by Pershing Square and Ekman’s family office. The launch is planned for before the end of the year. Ekman explained the idea as a desire to give ordinary investors the opportunity to invest in companies like SpaceX, X, and xAI at earlier stages and at lower valuations.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor