Global artificial intelligence (AI) stocks are holding steady following recent turbulence triggered by U.S. political shifts and data center concerns. Attention is now firmly fixed on Anthropic, the developer behind the Claude chatbot, as the company prepares for what could become the largest initial public offering (IPO) in history.

A Historic Market Debut

According to major financial media reports on November 11, Anthropic is actively conducting institutional roadshows ahead of its upcoming Nasdaq listing. The firm has set its target price range between $70 and $78 per share. If pricing hits the upper bound on a fully diluted basis, Anthropic's corporate valuation will scale up to an astounding $1.4 trillion.

The sheer volume of the offering underscores its scale. Anthropic aims to issue 825 million shares to raise up to $64.4 billion. When combined with an additional $26 billion in strategic investments from technology heavyweights such as Google, Microsoft, and NVIDIA, total transaction volumes could hit $904 billion. Should these plans materialize as expected, Anthropic will surpass SpaceX's $85.7 billion listing from June to claim the title of the largest IPO ever recorded.

The company is slated to host a virtual investor conference on November 13—featuring Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei alongside JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon—with its official trading debut targeted for November 19.

Crucial Test for AI Profitability and Valuations

Financial analysts point out that Anthropic's IPO will act as an essential barometer for the entire tech sector. Over recent years, aggressive spending on data centers, cloud infrastructure, and semiconductors fueled a massive stock market rally. However, as capital expenditures ballooned, skepticism regarding immediate return on investment (ROI) also intensified.

Market watchers note that a strong debut with pricing at the top of expectations would reaffirm investor confidence in structural AI growth. Conversely, a lukewarm reception or a downward adjustment in pricing could spark broader fears of sector-wide overvaluation.

Interestingly, while Anthropic’s target valuation represents a roughly 45% increase from its $965 billion valuation in May, it remains comfortably below earlier speculative targets of $2 trillion, indicating a more pragmatic valuation environment among investors.

Strong Financial Growth and Supply Chain Backing

Underpinning the IPO is rapid commercial expansion. Anthropic reported that its annualized revenue reached approximately $81 billion at the end of October, marking a $10-billion jump within just a single month.

Furthermore, the roster of participating investors reads like a who's who of global tech infrastructure. Google and NVIDIA have each committed $10 billion, alongside participation from industry giants including AMD, Broadcom, Micron, Microsoft, and TSMC. This alignment illustrates deep ecosystem backing, where foundational hardware and cloud providers are financially invested in the application layer's success.

Impact on Markets and Regional Players

While mega-IPOs can temporarily strain liquidity and create near-term volatility for existing semiconductor and AI equities, market strategists expect these supply-and-demand friction points to dissipate quickly once trading commences.

In South Korea, analysts are monitoring how local technology and telecommunication giants partnering with Anthropic—such as Samsung SDS, LG CNS, and SK Telecom—might leverage enterprise-level AI transformation (AX) and commercial contracts to capture new revenue streams as the market enters its next maturity phase.

[ⓒ Global Economic Times. 무단전재-재배포 금지]