Anthropic's Valuation Falls, SpaceX Drives the Market: Key Takeaways on IPOs as of October 18

Anthropic’s investors have begun to revise their expectations regarding the AI startup’s valuation ahead of its upcoming IPO, lowering the target from $2 trillion to $1.5 trillion. Data center operator AirTrunk has postponed its $1.5 billion real estate investment trust (REIT) offering in Singapore until 2027. Check out our roundup of the week’s top events in the initial public offering market.

— Some of Anthropic’s current and potential investors have lowered their expectations regarding the AI startup’s valuation in its upcoming IPO from $2 trillion to approximately $1.5 trillion, Reuters reported, citing sources. This was due to a slowdown in the company’s revenue growth: in the third quarter, revenue rose by 50% to $16.8 billion, whereas in the second quarter, it more than doubled. Although the company posted adjusted profits for the second consecutive quarter, investors are concerned about rising costs associated with expanding its AI infrastructure. Anthropic’s current valuation stands at $965 billion, and the company’s IPO, scheduled for November, could become the largest in history.

— New York City Comptroller Mark Levin, who oversees the city’s pension funds with more than $325 billion in assets, has called on Anthropic to postpone its IPO until risks related to the safety, governance, and pace of development of artificial intelligence are addressed, Bloomberg reports. In a letter to the company’s CEO, Dario Amodei, he stated that the AI safety agreements signed by the Trump administration with leading developers are insufficient. Levin demanded that Anthropic disclose specific audit and oversight measures, as well as the timeline for their implementation.

— Bank of America has declined to participate in the preparation of the Hong Kong IPO for the Chinese AI startup Moonshot AI amid increased scrutiny of the company by Washington, Bloomberg reports, citing sources. The bank had been in talks to serve as one of the underwriting coordinators but never received a formal mandate. The U.S. accuses Chinese AI developers, including Moonshot and DeepSeek, of using technology from American companies to train their own models. Moonshot, the developer of the Kimi K3 model, expects to raise up to $5 billion in an IPO in the first quarter of 2027 at a valuation of about $50 billion. Goldman Sachs remains the only U.S. bank among the underwriters, working alongside China’s CICC and Deutsche Bank, the agency notes.

— Australian data center operator Firmus plans to go public on a U.S. stock exchange next year and raise capital on the private market beforehand, The Wall Street Journal reports, citing a source. Firmus, whose investors include Nvidia and Blackstone, had intended to conduct one of Australia’s largest IPOs in October but scrapped its plans due to market volatility and unfavorable market conditions.

— Japanese news aggregator SmartNews has decided to hold an IPO in December with a valuation of about $317 million, even though it was valued at $2 billion as recently as 2021, Bloomberg reports, citing sources. The decline in the company’s value is linked to the development of artificial intelligence, which is emerging as an alternative way to get news. SmartNews had previously attempted to sell the business but was unable to find a buyer at the desired price. Founded in 2012, the company aggregates news from more than 3,000 media outlets. After cutting 40% of its workforce in the U.S. and China in 2023, SmartNews is expanding its advertising business and paid subscription offerings in an effort to diversify its revenue.

— India’s Jio Platforms, owned by billionaire Mukesh Ambani, plans to raise up to $3.2 billion in India’s largest-ever IPO, according to Reuters. The offering will take place from October 21 to 23, with the company valued at up to $108.3 billion, which would make it the fourth-largest by market capitalization in the country. Jio, whose investors include Meta and Google, operates in the telecommunications, cloud technology, and artificial intelligence sectors. The company’s telecommunications division serves 533 million subscribers and accounts for 60% of India’s mobile internet traffic. The company will use up to $2.89 billion of the proceeds to repay debt.

— AirTrunk, a data center operator backed by Blackstone, has postponed a $1.5 billion initial public offering (IPO) of a real estate investment trust (REIT) in Singapore until 2027 due to rising interest rates and market volatility, Bloomberg reports, citing sources. The company had considered raising the fund’s yield from 5.5% to 6% annually to attract investors, but investor interest remains weak. The decision comes amid the cancellation of the IPO of Australia’s Nvidia-backed Firmus Grid due to insufficient demand. Amid rising interest rates in the U.S., Singapore’s REIT index has fallen 12% since late July.

— Shares of the American biotechnology company Iambic Therapeutics, whose investors include Nvidia and Cathie Wood, rose 18% following its IPO on October 15. The company, which raised $150 million, ended its first day of trading with a market capitalization of $896 million, according to Bloomberg. Iambic uses artificial intelligence to develop cancer drugs and will use the funds raised to advance three drugs in early-stage trials. Its partners include AbbVie, Takeda, and Lambda, and its investors include ARK Investment Management. In the first half of 2026, Iambic’s revenue rose from $3.9 million to $12.8 million, but its net loss increased from $33.2 million to $50.1 million.

— The American biotechnology company City Therapeutics raised $200 million in an IPO, selling 11.1 million shares at $18 apiece, according to Bloomberg. At this share price, the company’s market capitalization stands at approximately $906 million. City develops RNA interference-based drugs to treat thromboembolic and hereditary eye diseases, and its investors include Arch Venture Partners and Fidelity. In the first half of 2026, the company’s revenue totaled $6.4 million, compared with $5.6 million a year earlier, while its net loss increased from $24.3 million to $53.4 million.

— Anthropic’s strong financial results could bolster the company’s upcoming IPO, but are unlikely to allay investors’ concerns about investments in the AI sector as a whole, Bloomberg reports, citing analysts. In the third quarter, the AI lab’s revenue reached $16.8 billion, its gross margin stood at 85%, and its free cash flow turned positive. However, the slowdown in revenue growth has heightened concerns about the return on large-scale investments in AI infrastructure. Against a backdrop of high interest rates and rising borrowing costs, investors are paying increasing attention to the sustainability of profits and companies’ debt burdens. Analysts believe that Anthropic’s IPO could be successful, but the company’s ability to achieve a valuation exceeding $2 trillion raises questions.

— Investment in the space industry could exceed $100 billion for the first time in 2026, thanks to SpaceX’s record-breaking IPO, rising defense spending, and the development of space infrastructure, Bloomberg reports, citing analysts at Space Capital. SpaceX’s $75 billion IPO in June prompted investors to reevaluate other market players, and the company’s plans to phase out the Falcon 9 rocket—its primary launch vehicle—have heightened interest in its competitors. For example, the startup Stoke Space raised $1 billion to develop the reusable Nova rocket, while Blue Origin raised at least $10 billion in its first external funding round in 26 years. At the same time, analysts are warning of the risks posed by overvalued space companies and their dependence on SpaceX technology.

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