Anthropic Posts $80B H1 Loss; IPO Valuation Cut to $1.5T Amid Scrutiny
According to the Wall Street Journal, Anthropic reported a net loss exceeding $80 billion in the first half of the year, driven by massive accounting charges and compute investments. Despite revenue surging to $16.3 billion and adjusted profitability in Q3, investors are reassessing value due to high costs, cutting IPO valuation expectations from $2 trillion to approximately $1.5 trillion. This shift highlights the steep price of the AI race and growing concerns over infrastructure ROI.
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October 21 — According to a report by The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday, Anthropic recorded a net loss exceeding $80 billion in the first half of the year (IT Home note: approximately RMB 535.493 billion at current exchange rates). The company also signaled that it may invest up to $750 billion (approximately RMB 5.02 trillion) over the next few years to expand its compute resources.
Citing a draft prospectus for an initial public offering (IPO), the report noted that the company’s loss during the same period last year was $13 billion (approximately RMB 87.018 billion). The significant increase in losses this time is primarily attributed to a $72 billion accounting charge (approximately RMB 481.944 billion), which relates to changes in the value of financial instruments issued by Anthropic for fundraising purposes.
These figures highlight the high costs associated with the artificial intelligence race, even as investors scrutinize more carefully whether massive expenditures on chips and data centers will yield returns.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Anthropic’s revenue surged from $1.1 billion (approximately RMB 7.363 billion) in the same period last year to $16.3 billion (approximately RMB 109.107 billion) in the six months ending June 30. Meanwhile, spending on AI infrastructure nearly quadrupled, reaching almost $9 billion (approximately RMB 60.243 billion).
Anthropic’s IPO Valuation Faces Scrutiny
As early as September, Reuters reported based on the company’s IPO prospectus that Anthropic posted a net loss of $42 billion (approximately RMB 281.134 billion) in 2025.
The company’s growth has been boosted by the popularity of Claude Code, a coding assistant that enables developers to write software and build applications.
Four sources familiar with the matter told Reuters that following Anthropic’s investor day last week, some existing and potential investors began considering lowering the valuation of the AI firm after reviewing the latest financial disclosures.
Three of these sources stated that during the event held in San Francisco, investors discussed a valuation of approximately $1.5 trillion (approximately RMB 10.04 trillion), a notable reduction from the previously expected valuation of around $2 trillion (approximately RMB 13.39 trillion) for the planned November stock sale.
At the meeting, Anthropic informed investors that its third-quarter revenue jumped 45% quarter-over-quarter to $16.8 billion (approximately RMB 112.454 billion), and that the quarter achieved profitability on an adjusted basis.
A sluggish reception for Anthropic’s IPO could put pressure on the broader AI market. With competitor OpenAI expected to go public next year, investors widely believe that the short-term outlook for the AI industry depends significantly on the success of this IPO.