Anthropic is expected to beat rival OpenAI to the public markets with a major initial public offering (IPO) later this year, even as concerns over the safety of advanced artificial intelligence systems intensify.
The potential IPO comes amid renewed debate over AI risks after an Anthropic employee, Jacob Coxon, resigned last week, warning that the industry was “gambling with our lives.”
Coxon, who previously worked at OpenAI, received support from some former colleagues, including one who expressed concern about the possibility, however small, that advanced AI could pose an existential threat to humanity.
Anthropic Chief Executive Officer Dario Amodei also recently called for a slowdown in AI development, although he did not link the comments to the company’s IPO plans.
The developments come as investors await potential IPOs from both Anthropic and OpenAI, with questions emerging over how the companies will address AI-related risks in filings with regulators.
Companies seeking to go public are required to disclose known material business risks to investors. Anthropic could file its registration documents with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as early as this month, according to reports.
Venture capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya said concerns over AI safety could affect investor sentiment if they were shown to represent significant risks to Anthropic’s business.
However, Altimeter Capital founder Brad Gerstner, who holds stakes in both OpenAI and Anthropic, said public listings would provide greater transparency and allow markets to assess the risks.
“Anthropic will IPO. The market knows how to price risk,” Gerstner wrote on X.
The performance of Anthropic’s potential IPO could also influence expectations for OpenAI’s planned market debut.
The stakes extend beyond the two AI companies, with major technology firms including Microsoft, Amazon, Google and Nvidia holding significant investments in AI businesses.
The growing importance of AI to the US economy has also increased the potential impact of major AI companies’ financial performance on investors and the wider technology sector.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said the company would delay its IPO until 2027, citing safety concerns and describing the current timing as inappropriate.
Before the latest safety debate, OpenAI executives had indicated that the company was not in a rush to go public.
However, the ChatGPT developer continues to pursue major fundraising efforts. Reports indicate that OpenAI is discussing a new funding round at a valuation of at least $1.2 trillion, while Anthropic could seek a valuation of up to $2 trillion in a potential IPO as early as October.
Reports have also cited concerns among OpenAI executives about investor sentiment, broader market uncertainty and the performance of SpaceX following its public listing.
OpenAI Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar has rejected suggestions that slowing the release of advanced AI systems would necessarily hurt the company’s business or revenue growth.
Anthropic has similarly maintained that its focus on AI safety is central to its business model.
“Safety has been the core of who we are from the very beginning,” Anthropic’s head of policy, Sarah Heck, said at a Politico conference, adding that the company’s investors and customers were aware of its approach.
