Anthropic Weighs IPO as Soon as October — Valuation Over $60B, Goldman Sachs Among Lead Underwriter Candidates

Anthropic, the developer of AI chatbot Claude, is considering an initial public offering (IPO) as early as October 2026, Bloomberg reported on March 27. If realized, the IPO could value the company at over $60 billion, making it one of the largest AI industry debuts in history.

According to the report, Anthropic has begun preliminary discussions with major Wall Street investment banks about lead underwriting roles, with Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, and Morgan Stanley among the candidates. The company was valued at $380 billion in a funding round completed in February 2026, and a further premium is expected at IPO.

Anthropic was founded in 2021 by Dario Amodei, a former OpenAI staff member, with the mission of being 'a more responsible steward of AI.' The company has partnered with major tech firms including Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and NVIDIA, achieving rapid growth. It has also announced plans to invest $50 billion in building custom data centers in the United States.

The IPO consideration comes amid intensifying competition with rival OpenAI. Both companies require massive capital for their AI development race, making public market fundraising strategically critical. If Anthropic's listing materializes, it is expected to further fuel investment enthusiasm across the AI industry and create ripple effects for other AI startups' IPO plans.

The timing is notable as it follows Anthropic's recent legal victory against the Pentagon's supply chain risk designation, which had threatened to cost the company billions in government contract revenue. A successful IPO would not only provide capital but also validate Anthropic's approach of maintaining ethical guardrails while pursuing commercial growth.