Anthropic, the company behind Claude, is set to make its much-anticipated stock market debut next Thursday.
Demand for the offering is already reported to be six times greater than the number of shares available. Yet the flotation is taking place against an increasingly unsettled backdrop.
Jensen Huang, chief executive of Nvidia and one of the most influential figures in artificial intelligence, resigned this week after disclosures involving alleged affairs with a suspected Chinese spy and two fellow executives. Nvidia’s market value subsequently fell by around half a trillion dollars.
The Nvidia turmoil has intensified scrutiny of Anthropic’s IPO, which involves a company that describes itself as being ‘at the forefront of the most consequential technologies in human history’.
For UK investors, the deal offers the chance to participate with a minimum investment of only £250, although the risks are substantial.
Anthropic’s shares have been provisionally priced between $70 and $78. Morningstar analysts, however, estimate their fair value at $94.
Getting involved: Anthropic shares have been provisionally priced between $70 and $78
Darius McDermott of Chelsea Financial Services offers a blunt assessment of the controversial initial public offering.
‘This is a high-risk bet, and you could lose everything,’ he says.
‘But if the business continues expanding at anything close to its current rate, the potential return could be many times your original investment.’
For investors tempted by that prospect, here is how to seek a stake in Anthropic, the company developing what it calls ‘one of the most consequential technologies in human history’.
How to apply
Applications can be made through AJ Bell, which requires a minimum investment of £1,000, as well as eToro, Hargreaves Lansdown, Interactive Investor, Interactive Brokers, Robinhood UK and Revolut.
The application deadline is Wednesday, November 18, at either noon or 1pm, depending on the platform. However, the offer could be withdrawn before that time if demand remains strong.
The early rush has been so pronounced that the investment banks overseeing the IPO may increase Anthropic’s valuation from $1.3trillion to $1.5trillion. That would still fall below the $2trillion valuation discussed only a few weeks ago.
A higher valuation would also push up the final share price, which is due to be determined after US markets close on Wednesday.
Roughly 20 per cent of the shares on offer have been reserved for individual investors in the US, UK, Australia and Europe. But the strength of demand suggests that many applications may be scaled back.
During SpaceX’s IPO this summer, investors seeking up to £2,013 worth of shares received their full allocation. Larger applications were reduced.
The background
Anthropic was valued at an estimated $183billion as recently as September 2025, highlighting the extraordinary speed of its growth since the company was founded in January 2021.
That rise has been driven by widespread amazement at Claude’s capabilities, alongside growing concern about the potentially devastating effect AI could have on employment.
Anthropic will list on New York’s Nasdaq at a time of political uncertainty and amid the continuing fallout from the allegations involving Huang.
At the same time, investors are becoming more doubtful about the financial returns from the technology sector’s vast AI spending, which could reach $1trillion this year.
The company
Claude’s broad range of uses has helped drive its rapid adoption. The AI platform now has approximately 312m monthly users around the world.
Anthropic’s main target market is corporate customers, around 1,900 of whom each spend more than $1million annually.
That commercial momentum has created an optimistic outlook for the business. Goldman Sachs, the Wall Street bank leading the flotation, forecasts revenues of about $52billion this year, rising to $136billion in 2027, $442billion in 2029 and $600billion in 2030. Anthropic generated only $4.6billion in revenue in 2025.
Losses are expected to reach $40.4billion in 2027. By 2029, however, the company is forecast to have moved into profit, generating an estimated $65.2billion.
The risks
The Nvidia disclosures have added to concerns triggered by the Democrats’ success in the US midterm elections.
That political shift could lead to slower construction of the data centres needed to supply AI systems with computing power.
Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft and other technology giants are collectively spending about $2billion a day on data centres, semiconductors and the other equipment required to build out AI infrastructure.
Anthropic is also committing huge sums to the expansion, but unlike Amazon and Meta, which have advertising businesses to fall back on, it has no other major source of income. Its profits will therefore need to grow faster than its costs.
The company is also facing tougher competition from OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, which is ‘aggressively discounting’, according to Charles-Henry Monchau of wealth manager Syz.
Investors seeking to hold Anthropic shares for the long term should also consider the principles of its founders, as well as the potential financial consequences.
Chief executive Dario Amodei and his sister Daniela Amodei, the company’s president, say Anthropic’s approach ‘may differ from that of a purely profit-maximising company’.
They encourage investors to think less in purely ‘transactional terms’ and instead view ownership as ‘the opportunity to be part of something greater’.
That ambition could involve accelerating economic growth, helping to cure serious diseases and tackling ‘problems that have resisted generations of human effort’.
Opportunity: Investors are encouraged to see the shares as ‘the opportunity to be part of something greater’ rather than a purely transactional investment
Other ways into AI
Buying Anthropic shares amounts to a direct wager on the industrial transformation promised by AI, making it a particularly risky investment. Another option is to back companies that could benefit from wider AI adoption without being wholly dependent on the technology.
Tom Wildgoose, senior portfolio manager for global equities at wealth manager Sarasin & Partners, points to payments giant Mastercard. The company could benefit from higher transaction volumes as consumers increasingly use AI tools to make purchases.
For greater diversification, I have invested some money in funds that hold Anthropic, including Scottish Mortgage and Schiehallion.
Other funds that invested in the company at an early stage include Baillie Gifford US Growth, HarbourVest Global Private Equity and RIT Capital Partners.
If you are applying for Anthropic shares, it may be worth using the opportunity to review your broader exposure to technology funds through the same investment platform.
One example is the Brunner Investment Trust, in which I have a small holding. It owns shares in Visa, Shell and a selection of technology companies.
Julian Bishop, Brunner’s co-manager, says: ‘The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company manufactures chips for Nvidia, but also produces a range of chips for Apple and other customers. Similarly, Dutch company ASML supplies the advanced equipment needed to manufacture leading-edge microchips.’
Anthropic shares could enjoy a spectacular first day when the company lists next week.
After that, investors should expect plenty of volatility and take care to limit the effect of sharp price swings on both their finances and their nerves.
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