Chatbot developer Claude Anthropic has hired lawyers to prepare for IPO - FT

Artificial intelligence startup Anthropic has engaged law firm Wilson Sonsini to prepare for an IPO, which could become one of the largest in the history of the stock market, the Financial Times reported, citing sources. Despite the continuing uncertainty about the timing of the listing, Anthropic's recent moves indicate that it is intensifying its efforts in this direction, the publication emphasizes.

According to the FT's interlocutors, the developer of the corporate-oriented chatbot Claude recently instructed Wilson Sonsini to start working on preparations for going public. The startup's management has also held preliminary talks with major investment banks. Sources characterize the discussions as informal, noting that the selection of underwriters is still a long way off. Nevertheless, these steps by Antropic indicate that preparations for the IPO are accelerating, the publication says.

A spokesman for Anthropic said that for a company of this size and revenue level, "it is standard practice for a company of this size and level of revenue to operate in a mode that is virtually consistent with being a public company." "We have not made any decisions about when to go public or whether to go public at all," he emphasized.

The FT sources' estimates on the timing of Anthropic's listing vary. According to one of them, Anthropic could be ready to float as early as 2026. However, another person close to the company warned that such an early IPO is unlikely. Meanwhile, the startup's investors hope that Anthropic will be able to seize the initiative from OpenAI and go public before it, the publication notes.

Wilson Sonsini has been advising Anthropic since 2022, including handling the multi-billion dollar investment from Amazon. The law firm previously worked on the IPOs of Alphabet, LinkedIn and Lyft. Anthropic's preparations for a public offering also include personnel decisions: last year, Krishna Rao, who previously played an important role in the listing of home rental service Airbnb, was appointed CFO of the startup, the FT notes.

OpenAI is also making preliminary preparations for an IPO, but, according to sources, it is too early to talk about specific dates. In October, OpenAI's valuation reached $500 billion. In November, Anthropic secured commitments from Microsoft and Nvidia to invest $15 billion - these funds will be part of a funding round that could bring the startup's valuation to $350 billion.

Anthropic may become profitable much faster than OpenAI, The Wall Street Journal reported in November, citing documents in its possession. According to the WSJ, Anthropic expects to break even in 2028, while OpenAI forecasts its first profit in 2030 at the earliest.

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