Anthropic IPO Roadshow: CEO Says "Doesn't Care About Market Conditions", Hopes to "Underpromise and Overdeliver"

Anthropic is sprinting towards what could be one of the largest IPOs in history, with CEO Dario Amodei displaying a deliberately low-key attitude during pre-listing roadshows—he stated that the company hopes to "promise less, deliver more" and appeared unfazed by market volatility surrounding the timing of the listing.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Amodei participated in a live fireside chat at JPMorgan's New York headquarters with JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon on Friday, attended by existing and potential investors, Anthropic CFO Krishna Rao, and Amodei's wife. During the conversation, Amodei said that the company is adopting a conservative pricing strategy, sharing that he has often been advised to "never let the company's valuation exceed its real value by even one dollar," a philosophy he aligns with.

This IPO comes amid severe market turbulence. AI-related stocks saw steep declines at the beginning of the month, with the Nasdaq Composite losing $2.5 trillion in a single day; this week, news of former Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's departure due to a personal scandal further rattled the market, placing pressure on Nvidia's stock. In this context, Amodei made his position clear:

"We aren't particularly concerned about which month or market conditions we list in."

Anthropic is currently targeting a valuation of about $1.33 trillion or higher, with shares expected to begin trading next Thursday. Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are the lead underwriters for the IPO, with more than 20 investment banks participating in the syndicate.

This valuation has fallen significantly from earlier market expectations. Wall Street had previously expected the IPO valuation to reach as high as $2 trillion, before adjusting downward to approximately $1.5 trillion, and the market sell-off at the beginning of the month further depressed expectations, with some large investors pressuring Anthropic to lower its target valuation.

Earlier this week, Anthropic disclosed plans to offer 825 million shares at $70 to $78 each. According to sources familiar with the matter, given the strong current investor demand, the price range or offering size may be increased. Based on the midpoint of the current target range, the IPO would raise over $61 billion, with an additional $26 billion from private placements to large investors such as Google. If the total proceeds exceed $75 billion, Anthropic would surpass the record IPO fundraising set by SpaceX in June this year. Notably, Dimon also hosted a fireside chat with Elon Musk ahead of the SpaceX IPO roadshow.

Anthropic faces no shortage of external challenges as it goes public. The AI sector experienced a major correction earlier this month, raising questions over whether highly valued tech stocks can deliver on profit expectations. At the same time, news of former Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's resignation shocked the markets, sending Nvidia shares lower and further unsettling investors.

The relationship between Nvidia and Anthropic is nuanced—Nvidia is not only Anthropic's chip supplier, but also plans to join other tech giants in acquiring a significant stake in Anthropic during this IPO.

During the conversation, Amodei also discussed Anthropic’s longer-term goals, such as harnessing AI to tackle diseases. "It may sound outlandish, it may sound crazy," he said, "but I truly believe it can be accomplished."

On the business front, Amodei admitted that investments in computational resources are "the most fundamental business challenge" facing the company, with massive compute spending exerting ongoing financial pressure. Wrapping up his statement on valuation and pricing, he reiterated the company's aim to "promise less, deliver more"—a message that not only recalibrates investor expectations but also reflects the complex considerations for AI companies going public in today's market climate.