Anthropic's IPO filing, with the price range still blank, shows bankers telling investors the offering could raise $100bn or more at a valuation near $2tn.
Anthropic's second quarter operating income of $974m at an 8% margin is its only profitable quarter, while the first half still shows a $693m operating loss.
Cloud marketplaces delivered 48% of first half revenue, and Anthropic books those sales gross, so its top line includes the share that goes to cloud providers.
Anthropic's IPO filing shows hypergrowth at a $2tn price
Anthropic's S-1 shows a company growing at an unprecedented rate and only just turning profitable, asking public investors to pay about $2tn. The price rests on run rate figures the company defines itself and on margins that look weaker once free-tier compute and partner fees are counted. The bull case is whether use cases keep growing as fast as the price per task falls.
Takeaways
Revenue growth is explosive and broadening. Q2 revenue was $11.6bn, up 1368% year over year, and first half revenue was $16.3bn against $1.2bn. Net revenue retention is 900%, and about 1,900 customers pay $1m or more.
Profit is thin and reported margins flatter. Q2 operating income was $974m, an 8% margin, but the first half shows a $693m operating loss. Compute is 55% of revenue, and the host puts true gross margin in the low to high 60s, not the reported 85%.
The $80.7bn loss is mostly accounting. The first half net loss comes mostly from marking up convertible notes as the valuation rose. Anthropic held $131.7bn of cash and short-term investments at June 30, has raised $141bn, and the filing shows no going concern language.
Valuation multiples swing with the run rate used. Anthropic publishes no run rate. Figures ranged from $30bn in April to $47bn in May and $65bn in late July, and OpenAI said the first was overstated by $8bn. A $2tn valuation is about 101 times trailing revenue.
Cloud partners are channel, supplier and rival. 48% of first half revenue flowed through cloud marketplaces, up from 11% in 2023. Anthropic books these sales gross and pays each cloud a fee, while Amazon, Google and Microsoft see its pricing and sell competing models.
Founders keep control through five stock classes. Founders hold 50.1% of the vote, and the long-term benefit trust elects four of seven board members. IPO buyers get Class A shares with one vote each. Voting power passes to common holders once fewer than three co-founders remain.
Compute commitments and chip supply drive risk. Anthropic relies on TSMC for about 90% of advanced chips and makes large compute commitments months before revenue arrives. It also reached a $1.5bn settlement over pirated books and depends on cloud partners that compete with it.
Filing details worth watching
Anthropic dismissed Grant Thornton, the auditor it engaged in October 2025.
In January 2026 it cut the vesting cliff on unvested options from one year to six months.
19% of former employees returned.
Unrecognized stock compensation is $23.7bn over about two years, set against an operating profit near $4bn.
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