Anthropic Presses Ahead With IPO Despite AI Headwinds... Will Its Valuation Fall?

Anthropic plans to proceed with its initial public offering (IPO) as scheduled despite recent headwinds surrounding artificial intelligence (AI). Ahead of the listing, it has also unveiled next-generation AI models to highlight its technological competitiveness.

Reuters-Yonhap

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on November 9 (local time), citing people familiar with the matter, that Anthropic plans to meet with major investors this week and aims to begin trading on Nasdaq on November 19 or 20.

The market is watching closely to see what valuation Anthropic will receive. Until just a week ago, the market expected the company to be valued at about $1.5 trillion (approximately 2,018 trillion won). With AI-related stocks plunging recently, some major investors believe the valuation should be lower. Concerns about tighter AI regulations and delays in data center construction have grown since Democrats won the U.S. midterm elections. Uncertainty across the AI industry is also mounting following a recent scandal involving Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang.

The WSJ noted that the Nasdaq index has recently recovered some of its losses, lending momentum to Anthropic's IPO plans. However, it forecast that to complete the listing, Anthropic may have to accept a valuation considerably below the roughly $2 trillion discussed several months ago. The company could postpone the IPO until market conditions improve to avoid this, but doing so could instead spread unease through the market, the report said.

Meanwhile, Anthropic unveiled its next-generation AI models, Fable 5.2 and Mythos 5.2, on Tuesday, seeking to strengthen its technological competitiveness. Fable 5.2 can perform a range of tasks, including complex software development and robot control, and can handle projects that run over extended periods. It can also coordinate more than 1,000 AI agents simultaneously.

Mythos 5.2 is fundamentally the same model as Fable, but has comparatively fewer safeguards for cybersecurity and life sciences. It is currently available only to organizations selected through a separate verification program.

Processing speeds have also improved. According to Anthropic, the two models generate output up to 30% faster than their previous versions. Usage fees have also been reduced. The latest version, Fable 5.2, costs $8 per 1 million input tokens and $40 per 1 million output tokens. Those prices are 20% lower than the respective $10 and $50 fees for the previous version, Fable 5.1.

Bloomberg News forecast that the launch of the new models will help Anthropic respond to challenges from competitors such as OpenAI. However, as concerns about the potential risks of AI technology grow, the unveiling of the new models could also lead to greater scrutiny of Anthropic and increased regulatory pressure.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.