Anthropic Reportedly Readies for Potential IPO in 2026
In Focus
- Anthropic has tapped law firm Wilson Sonsini in preparation for a potential IPO
- The law firm previously supported Apple and Google IPOs
- Anthropic’s IPO will likely increase competition with OpenAI
Anthropic is reportedly preparing for one of the biggest IPOs in 2026. According to Yahoo Finance, the AI lab has tapped U.S. law firm Wilson Sonsini to support the Anthropic IPO. The law firm has previously supported high-profile tech IPOs including those of Apple, LinkedIn, Google, and Lyft.
Anthropic in Talks With Investment Banks
Sources say the AI firm has commenced preliminary talks about Anthropic IPO filing with major investment banks. But Anthropic says it’s yet to make a decision on when or whether to go public.
“It’s fairly standard practice for companies operating at our scale and revenue level to effectively operate as if they are publicly traded companies,” Anthropic spokesperson said, as reported by CNBC.
The AI firm is pursuing a private funding round that could push its valuation past the $300 billion mark, up from $183 billion as of September 2025. This funding round includes a $15 billion commitment from NVIDIA and Microsoft. In July 2025, Anthropic closed a $5 billion financing round that valued it at $170 billion.
What Would Anthropic’s Public Listing Mean?
Anthropic’s stock market debut would position the AI lab in a stiff race with OpenAI. The ChatGPT maker is targeting a $1 trillion valuation in a landmark IPO plan. The two companies struggle to meet training costs that increase faster than revenue. A public listing would also enable the company to test Anthropic investors’ roadmap for AI labs that are yet to breakeven amid fears of a potential AI bubble.
“An IPO by Anthropic as soon as 2026, if realized, would dramatically tighten the competitive pressure among major AI labs, formalize valuation expectations, push capital markets to assign public valuations to AI output, and likely trigger a rush of IPO-and-exit plays across the sector” OpenLedger’s Blockchain and AI Infrastructure Contributor Ram Kumar said as reported by Yahoo Finance.
Kumar also argues that a successful Anthropic IPO would shift investor and enterprise perspectives of AI, from a research cost to “an investable asset class with tradable equity, quantifiable growth targets, and public scrutiny.”
Potential Risk for Anthropic’s 2026 IPO
Anthropic, which recently launched a faster and cheaper version of Claude Haiku AI model, enjoys investor optimism. But as the company prepares for a possible 2026 stock market debut, the timing of its IPO has been questioned, with valuation distortion being identified as a major risk.
“Large public market expectations may incentivize speed over substance, pushing labs to prioritize growth metrics over data quality, safety, transparency, or long-term infrastructure, all key pillars of a trustworthy AI ecosystem,” Kumar added as per Yahoo Finance.
Anthropic prepares for an IPO months after it signed its first enterprise AI deployment deal with Professional services firm Deloitte. Under the deal, Anthropic will make Claude accessible to 470,000 Deloitte employees and collaborate with Deloitte to develop industry-specific AI solutions.
