Anthropic Selects Nasdaq for Planned $2 Trillion IPO as OpenAI Rules Out Going Public

Anthropic IPO Moves Forward with Nasdaq Selection

Anthropic has chosen Nasdaq for its planned IPO listing, targeting an October debut that could value the AI company near $2 trillion, according to sources familiar with the matter1

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. The filing remains private, though the company must publish its financials at least 15 days before beginning its investor roadshow1

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. On an October timetable, these first verifiable numbers are due within weeks. Anthropic filed confidentially at a $965bn valuation and has appointed Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs to lead the offering1

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. The company has arranged a $15bn credit facility alongside a timetable landing days before the US midterms1

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. A raise of $100bn would make this the largest flotation ever attempted1

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Nasdaq Secures Both Record Technology Listings

For Nasdaq, Anthropic selects Nasdaq after the exchange secured SpaceX earlier this year at a $1.75trn valuation1

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. The exchange now holds both of the largest listings of a year that has otherwise been thin for technology flotations1

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. This marks a break from historical patterns, as the New York Stock Exchange has traditionally collected the biggest debuts1

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. The stakes of this rivalry have risen sharply, driven by the outsized value of these deals and a prolonged drought in significant tech market debuts2

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. Both venues compete less for fees than for the right to be seen as the natural home of every AI listing that follows1

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Exchange Choice and Market Dynamics

The exchange choice delivers one concrete advantage: only Nasdaq-listed companies can enter the Nasdaq-100 Index, which pulls passive money behind a stock without anyone deciding to buy it1

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. Nasdaq cut its minimum seasoning period to 15 trading days for qualifying IPOs after SpaceX's inclusion, making the exchange more attractive to large listings seeking index inclusion2

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. No convincing evidence shows companies perform better on one American exchange than the other1

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. The practical difference comes down to market-maker mechanics: the two run different processes for setting an opening price, and very large offerings can strain them1

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. Nasdaq's systems failed on the first day of Facebook's 2012 IPO, still the cautionary example whenever a listing of this size arrives1

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AI Safety Concerns Shadow Planned Listing

Anthropic proceeds toward its October roadshow while OpenAI ruled out a 2026 listing over the same AI safety concerns dominating current discussions1

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. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman told Fortune that "given everything happening with safety, right now would be an ill-advised moment to go public"1

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. The two AI industry developments represent opposite conclusions from an almost identical set of facts1

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. The safety warning that has dominated the past fortnight came from a former Anthropic researcher who resigned over safety concerns, stating the labs are gambling with our lives1

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. According to the post, existential risks from AI put the probability of human extinction above 10 percent1

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. The company about to ask public markets for valuation estimates near $2 trillion is the same company from which this warning originated1

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. Anthropic has been preparing to pitch investors a $30trn addressable market1

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. Watch for how the company addresses these safety controversies in its prospectus and whether investor appetite remains strong despite heightened scrutiny of AI development practices.