AI Claude maker Anthropic reported a sharp surge in revenue ahead of its planned stock market debut (IPO) later this month, but its latest financial filing also highlights the enormous costs of competing in the artificial intelligence race. The five year old company recorded $17 billion in third quarter revenue, up more than 1,100% from $1.4 billion a year earlier, AFP reported.
The San Francisco based AI developer, founded by former OpenAI researchers Dario Amodei and Daniela Amodei, reported a net loss of $23.3 billion for the July-September quarter, according to its amended IPO filing cited by AFP. Much of the loss stemmed from non-cash accounting charges linked to the company's rising valuation.
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However, its operating loss stood at $567 million as the company spent more on short term computing capacity. Revenue growth also slowed from previous quarters amid intensifying competition from OpenAI and lower cost AI models, many of them from China.
$895 billion in AI commitments
Anthropic's amended filing disclosed spending commitments of approximately $895 billion, largely towards computing infrastructure, with $70 billion due before September 2027.
The scale of these obligations comes at a time when investors are increasingly questioning whether massive investments in AI infrastructure will generate returns quickly enough. AFP noted that concerns over AI spending triggered a sharp selloff in Big Tech stocks last week after corporate earnings highlighted heavy investments without clear signs of corresponding returns.
The company's roughly 400 page filing also devoted more than 90 pages to risks, including concerns about unexpected and potentially harmful AI behaviour.
Anthropic IPO to test investor appetite for AI
Anthropic's proposed listing is emerging as a major test of investor confidence in the AI boom. The company is considering raising around $100 billion at a valuation of $1.5 trillion to $2 trillion. Such an offering would surpass the record $86 billion raised by SpaceX in June.
The company's corporate structure also gives its founders significant control. Dario and Daniela Amodei will retain 50.1% of shareholder voting power through a special share, limiting the influence of public investors.
The IPO comes as other major AI players seek capital to fund their ambitions. Meta and Alphabet have launched fundraising plans, while Oracle announced a $20 billion capital raising plan on Monday, despite investor concerns about its financial exposure to AI spending, AFP reported.
Anthropic plans to sell $3.5 billion worth shares to Japanese investors
Anthropic plans to raise up to 552.9 billion yen ($3.5 billion) through a share sale to Japanese investors as part of its planned US public listing, according to a filing released on Monday, Reuters reported.
Proceeds from the newly issued shares will be used to support working capital requirements, cover operating expenses and finance capital expenditure, the filing stated.
Mizuho Securities will oversee the share offering in Japan. Goldman Sachs, Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities and Morgan Stanley MUFG Securities will assist in handling investor subscription applications, the filing added.
