Anthropic goes public: Claude's maker reveals $16.3B revenue and an $80.7B loss

Anthropic — the US company behind the AI assistant known as Claude — has filed formal paperwork to enter the US stock market for the first time. The company announced on Monday, October 26, 2026, that it has filed Form S-1 with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and plans to list its Class A shares on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker "ANT". The number of shares to be sold and their price have not yet been set. Reports on October 21 said this IPO could be the largest ever — and a major test for the AI boom, as investors grow warier of the industry's heavy spending.

The filing shows a company that has grown at an extraordinary rate. Revenue for the first six months of 2026 (to June 30) was $16.3 billion, up from $1.2 billion in the same period in 2025 — an increase of 1,300 percent. For the full year of 2025, revenue was $4.59 billion, up from $386 million in 2024 and $41 million in 2023.

But the company also reported a huge loss: a net loss of $80.7 billion in the first six months of the year. Most of that loss, however — $72.4 billion — is a non-cash accounting charge, arising from changes in the fair value of convertible notes as the company's valuation rose. The operating loss — the money the business itself lost — was just $693 million.

The company has raised a total of $141.1 billion since it was founded, and as of June 30 it held $112.4 billion in cash and $19.3 billion in short-term investments. As of September 30, it had more than 1,900 customers paying at least $1 million a year, and about 250 paying at least $10 million.

Anthropic submitted a confidential draft to the SEC in June. According to Reuters, its backers hope the company's valuation will exceed $2 trillion. In May, the company raised $65 billion at a $965 billion valuation. Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley lead a list of 24 underwriters.

The governance structure is unusual. Anthropic is a public benefit corporation: its board must balance shareholders' interests with the interests of the public, and its written purpose is "the responsible development and maintenance of advanced AI for the long-term benefit of humanity." A Long-Term Benefit Trust, with five trustees, will elect a majority of the board. And a single special Class F share, to be issued to an entity owned by the company's seven co-founders — including chief executive Dario Amodei and president Daniela Amodei — will carry 50.1 percent of the votes on most shareholder matters. Under Nasdaq rules, that makes Anthropic a "controlled company": ordinary shareholders cannot change the company's leadership.

The filing also confirms what we reported on October 19: Anthropic contributed 847 million non-voting shares — 5 percent of its shares — to a public benefit fund. Its co-founders have also pledged to give 80 percent of their personal equity to philanthropic causes.

The filing runs to 335 pages, including 94 pages of risks. Among them, the company warns that AI could be misused for cyberattacks or to design biological weapons, could behave in ways its developers did not intend, could be used to build high-tech surveillance states, and could cause greater economic disruption than earlier technologies.

What does this mean for you?

Small business: Claude is a tool used by many businesses. A public company must report its earnings every quarter and answer shareholders' questions — that can bring pressure to raise prices, but also more openness about the product's direction. Watch for price changes, and keep comparing AI tools as you have been doing.

Students and teachers: The large sums flowing into AI mean more jobs and better tools — but also fiercer competition. Knowing how to use tools like Claude, and understanding how AI companies work, is a skill that grows more valuable every day. This IPO lesson is a good practical way to understand the economics of technology.

Everyday users: "ANT" shares are not yet for sale — the registration has not taken effect and no price has been set. Don't buy on the excitement of the news. And remember: the $80.7 billion loss looks enormous, but most of it is accounting, not cash out of the company's pocket. Look at the operating loss ($693 million) — that is what describes the health of the business.

Developers and tech entrepreneurs: Anthropic has more than 1,900 large customers — the market for AI tools has grown enormously. But the fact that the founders hold 50.1 percent of the votes means the company's direction will stay in their hands, not ordinary shareholders'. If you are building a business on top of Claude, understand that its direction will be decided by a small group — for better and for worse.