Anthropic plans to invest $518 billion in AI infrastructure ahead of its IPO, despite a reported $42 billion loss in 2025.
Anthropic is preparing to invest a staggering $518 billion in AI infrastructure as it gears up for a potential public offering, according to its IPO prospectus reviewed by Reuters.
Ambitious Investment Despite Financial Setbacks
The company aims to enhance its cloud computing capabilities to support its IPO strategy. This follows a challenging financial year where Anthropic reported a net loss of $42 billion in 2025, despite achieving a remarkable revenue increase to approximately $4.6 billion, nearly twelve times higher than the previous year.
Anthropic's investment is part of a broader vision, with the firm asserting that AI's impact on the economy will surpass that of previous technological revolutions, including industrialization and the advent of electricity. The company, which is known for its Claude AI models, anticipates its public listing to occur after the November U.S. midterm elections, potentially valuing the firm at over $2 trillion, a significant increase from its $965 billion valuation from a funding round in May.
Despite the ambitious growth outlook, Anthropic faces ongoing financial hurdles. The $42 billion loss reported included a $34 billion non-cash accounting charge related to financing that may convert to shares in the future. Excluding these charges, the operational loss was still substantial, exceeding $8 billion. At the end of 2025, Anthropic reported $20.28 billion in cash and short-term investments.
Stable Trading Activity Ahead of IPO
The market reaction to Anthropic's pre-IPO perpetual futures has been relatively stable. As of Tuesday, these contracts traded around $1,998, reflecting a 2% decline over the past day and about 10% lower than their peak of $2,211 on September 9. This pricing indicates traders estimate Anthropic's value at approximately $2 trillion, consistent with Reuters' evaluations.
Currently, twelve exchanges facilitate trading of these pre-IPO perpetual contracts, with total open interest surpassing $100 million. Notably, Binance accounts for over 30% of the trading volume. The decentralized exchange Hyperliquid reported an open interest of $36 million for Anthropic contracts, which are synthetic derivatives that settle in cash and do not confer any equity ownership in the company.
