Key Points
- Anthropic has selected Nasdaq for its listing, a person familiar told Bloomberg.
- The Claude developer is targeting a raise matching or topping SpaceX's IPO, possibly in October.
- US listings have already reached $160.6 billion this year, the highest since 2021.
The latest:
Anthropic has settled on Nasdaq as the venue for a listing that people familiar with the preparations say could raise as much as or more than SpaceX’s record offering, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke to Bloomberg on Sunday, September 13, 2026. The sale could come as soon as October. Anthropic and Nasdaq declined to comment.
Details:
- First report: Business Insider was first to report that Anthropic had chosen Nasdaq, according to Bloomberg. Neither the company nor the exchange commented on the selection, and no pricing range, share count or filing date has been disclosed publicly by either side.
- The benchmark: People familiar with the preparations said Anthropic is aiming to raise an amount equal to or greater than what SpaceX secured in its own offering. SpaceX’s June listing raised $86.3 billion, the largest US flotation of the year and the bar Anthropic’s bankers are now working against.
- Nasdaq’s year: The mandate marks another win for Nasdaq, which has hosted four of the largest US offerings in 2026. Alongside SpaceX, the exchange took SK Hynix public in July in a deal valued at $26.5 billion, according to Bloomberg.
- The market backdrop: US listings have generated $160.6 billion so far this year, excluding special purpose acquisition companies and other financial vehicles, based on data compiled by Bloomberg. That is the strongest annual total since 2021, driven by the race to fund artificial intelligence.
- The balance sheet: Anthropic was completing a $15 billion revolving credit facility earlier this month, Bloomberg News reported. The company is on pace for annualized revenue above $65 billion based on current performance — more than seven times its run rate at the end of last year.
- Nvidia’s interest: Reuters reported that Nvidia is in talks to invest in the offering. The size of any stake, the valuation attached to it and whether the discussions have advanced beyond preliminary talks have not been disclosed.
- The safety turn: On Saturday, Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei joined OpenAI’s Sam Altman and Elon Musk in calling for a slowdown in the pace of AI development because of mounting risks — a position aired days before the listing plans surfaced.
- OpenAI’s stance: Altman told Fortune his company will not go public this year for reasons tied to safety, drawing a public contrast with Anthropic’s timeline even as both executives pressed the same argument about the technology’s risks.
Between the lines:
Two Anthropic signals now sit side by side: its chief executive publicly urging a slower AI build-out, and a listing targeting a SpaceX-scale raise as soon as October. OpenAI has resolved that tension by staying private this year, per Altman. Anthropic’s revenue pace — seven times last year’s — and Nvidia’s reported interest suggest the capital demand driving its timetable.
What’s next
Watch for a public filing and pricing range, confirmation of an October window, whether Nvidia’s talks produce a disclosed commitment, and whether Anthropic addresses how the raise squares with Amodei’s slowdown call.
