29.10.2026 20:51
Anthropic, the developer of the popular chatbot Claude, warned in its application for a planned giant IPO in the US that artificial intelligence could pose catastrophic or existential risks for humanity. The company, which will trade on Nasdaq under the ticker ANT, is expected to surpass SpaceX, the largest IPO in history. Anthropic reported that it generated $16.3 billion in revenue in the first half of the year while its loss exceeded $80.7 billion.
Anthropic, the maker of the popular chatbot Claude, warned that artificial intelligence could "pose catastrophic or existential risks to humanity" as it disclosed details of its planned giant initial public offering in the US.
The company's market value is expected to surpass SpaceX, which became the largest IPO in history in the summer with an initial valuation of about $1.8 trillion.
Anthropic has not yet disclosed the number of shares to be offered, the price range or the IPO date.
The company, developer of the Claude chatbot, reported revenue of $16.3 billion in the first half of the year, but losses exceeding $80.7 billion.
Anthropic, which announced it will trade on Nasdaq under the ticker ANT, will become the first fully AI-focused company to go public and will therefore serve as a test for the future of the technology.
EXISTENTIAL RISK WARNING FOR HUMANITY
In its pre-IPO filing, Anthropic said concerns that AI systems pose a significant risk to humanity have been raised by politicians, regulators, researchers and people within the company.
The company stated that "if advanced AI systems are developed, deployed and operated without appropriate safety measures, oversight and protection mechanisms, especially if these systems are misused, copied, weaponized or allowed to operate with a high degree of autonomy, they could pose catastrophic or existential risks to humanity."
Anthropic was founded five years ago by CEO Dario Amodei, his sister Daniela Amodei and five others, and announced its intention to go public in June.
Its main rival OpenAI took a similar step shortly afterward. According to a person familiar with OpenAI's plans, the company's IPO is expected to take place in early next year.
Following these announcements, there was an increase in cybersecurity breaches and other technological problems involving these companies' AI agents designed to operate semi-autonomously.
Current and former employees of both companies also warned that AI technology is being developed without sufficient capacity to protect humanity from the potential harms AI tools could cause in the future.
RISKS AND BENEFITS
As Anthropic announced its plans to go public on Monday, the rights holders of Elvis Presley's musical works also sued the AI company, alleging that hundreds of songs by the rock 'n' roll star were used to train Claude.
In its new documents, Anthropic reiterated its previous commitments to developing AI in a way that benefits people, but also warned investors about potential dangers.
In its financial statements, the company detailed that its losses in the first half of the year exceeded its revenue, but said it would make forward-looking investments that might at first glance appear "irresponsibly large."
The technology company said, "Overall, we will aim to be bold but prudent and to earn trust with our track record of successful investments."
Anthropic said its success depends largely on its ability to develop the most advanced AI models, adding, "Our failure to do so could adversely affect our business."
In a risk factors section of about 90 pages, Anthropic listed potential threats to its capacity to develop AI safely and competitively.
The company warned that it depends heavily on cloud computing providers, Taiwanese chipmakers that are already facing intense demand, and data centers concentrated in the US.
It also cited concerns about AI use by children or individuals at risk of suicide, stating that there is a risk of "regulatory intervention arising from harms linked to AI models" and uncertainties about where and how it could be held responsible for the actions of its systems.
However, Anthropic also praised the technology's potential benefits in its filing and predicted that AI could bring forth "millions of virtual agents with the capacity to revolutionize every area of human activity" across a wide range of fields.
The company said, "We believe that AI is one of the most important technologies in human history."
Anthropic also said that AI would "radically increase" the pace of progress in biology and medicine and could help find treatments for various diseases, including cancer and Alzheimer's.
The company added that AI could deliver "a sustained acceleration in economic growth" by increasing productivity.
A MAJOR TURNING POINT IN AI
Matt Orton, chief market strategist at investment management firm Raymond James Investment, said investors expected to see losses as rapid as growth in Anthropic's financial statements, so Monday's situation was not a surprise.
Speaking to the BBC, Orton said, "The emergence of details in this filing will provide markets with more visibility because we need to know where revenue growth is coming from."
Peter Andersen, founder of Andersen Capital Management, described Anthropic's IPO plans in a statement to Reuters as "a major turning point in the development of AI."
Andersen added that the company's initial stock market performance would be "a fairly good indicator" of investors' willingness to continue putting money into AI development efforts.