Anthropic files for IPO as AI costs and competition intensify

Anthropic filed for its US initial public offering on Monday, setting up a major market debut that will test investor appetite for funding the AI company's heavy spending amid concerns over debt-fueled growth. The company, founded in 2021 by former OpenAI researchers, reported $16.29 billion in revenue for the first half of 2026, but its operating loss was $693 million. Computing costs are its largest expense, with over $500 billion in cloud commitments to partners including Amazon, Google, and Microsoft. Anthropic will remain a public benefit corporation after listing, with founders controlling 50.1% of voting power through a special share structure. It competes directly with OpenAI and Google, and accounted for 60.1% of AI token spending in the week ended October 11.