AI giant Anthropic is aiming for a record-breaking stock market debut. Anthropic is the first major US company focused solely on building AI software to make its market debut. It is expected to raise more money in its IPO than any form in history.
The startup, which has grown significantly after coming into existence just five years ago, filed papers for initial public offering (IPO) last Monday (October 26, 2026). As per a Bloomberg report, Anthropic could be worth $2 trillion once it goes public.
Saudi Aramco: Before SpaceX, the record for world’s biggest IPO stood with Saudi Arabia’s national petroleum and natural gas company Aramco for nearly seven years. The IPO was initially the largest stock market debut in history at the time. If the company manages to achieve its fundraising target, it will surpass SpaceX, which raised approximately $86.2 billion in its June 2026 IPO breaking the record set by Saudi Aramco with $25.6 billion listing in 2019. SpaceX: The American aerospace manufacturer and AI company set a record with its June 2026 stock market debut, raising approximately $75 billion through its initial offering. The figure increased to $86.2 billion after the exercise of the overallotment option. The company commanded an initial valuation of approximately $1.77 trillion. It went public in December 2019, raising $25.6 billion. The listing was subsequently expanded to approximately $29.4 billion after the exercise of the overallotment option. Alibaba: The Chinese e-commerce giant made its Wall Street debut in September 2014, raising $21.8 billion. Its proceeds eventually increased to approximately $25 billion after the overallotment option was exercised.
The listing was among Japan’s biggest-ever IPOs and was closely watched as one of the country’s most significant privatisations. The listing was one of the biggest technology and telecommunications offerings of its time. Its IPO was the largest US stock market debut at the time and came just as the global financial crisis was beginning to unfold. Who Are They However, the company’s ambitions come with significant financial challenges. Unlike Google or Meta, it has no advertising empire to fall back on if business takes a hit, and no cloud business like Microsoft’s or SpaceX’s.
Softbank: Japanese telecommunications company SoftBank Corp went public in December 2018, raising approximately $21.3 billion. NTT DoCoMo: The Japanese mobile operator raised approximately $18.1 billion in its October 1998 IPO. Visa: The American financial services giant raised approximately $17.9 billion when it went public in March 2008. The AI company is aiming to raise $100 billion – an amount that would be nearly 16 per cent higher than the $86.2 billion raised by SpaceX, and almost four times the amount raised by Saudi Aramco in its original IPO. READ | Anthropic’s IPO Could Create 7 New Billionaires. Anthropic generated $16.29 billion in revenue in the first half of 2026, but also reported a net loss of approximately $80.75 billion, according to its IPO filing.
The San Francisco-based firm said in its Wall Street prospectus “substantially all of our revenue” comes from its AI tools.
It could also become a defining moment for the AI industry, testing whether investors are willing to bet hundreds of billions of dollars on a technology whose commercial potential is growing rapidly, but whose costs and long-term risks remain substantial. The proposed listing will therefore be more than a test of investor appetite for one of the world’s most prominent AI companies.
