Investors question Anthropic IPO timing amid AI backlash

Anthropic is preparing what could be a historic stock market debut just days after American voters delivered a sharp rebuke to the AI buildout. In the Nov. 3 midterm elections, local communities opposed data center-related ballot measures in 40 of 41 cases, CNBC reported. More than half of voters told an NBC News exit poll that AI data centers were a "crucial" or "major factor" in their congressional vote.cnbc.com

The timing is awkward for the Claude maker. It is likely targeting a mid-November listing on the Nasdaq ↗ 0.27%, and investors see it aiming for a valuation of $1 trillion to $1.5 trillion, down from the $2 trillion figure floated in recent months, according to CNBC.cnbc.com

A huge compute bill

Anthropic's amended S-1, filed Nov. 2, said the company has purchase commitments and lease agreements with an aggregate committed spend of about $895.4 billion, "substantially all of which is related to compute and infrastructure," CNBC reported. The same filing showed about $17 billion in third-quarter revenue. Broadcom ↗ 0.74% leads the list of counterparties with about $161 billion in equipment leases, followed by Alphabet's ↗ 0.78% Google at about $121 billion and Amazon Amazon.com, Inc. ↘ 0.35% at $110 billion, Yahoo Finance reported.finance.yahoo.com+1

In its risk factors, Anthropic warned that opposition to data center development has become more organized across jurisdictions, and that its public profile could draw particular scrutiny to projects tied to it, CNBC noted. The prospectus also flagged that "politically sensitive or polarized environments" could produce policies that hurt its business, Politico reported.politico.com+1

Eroding trust

Democrats won sweeping congressional victories, and candidates who backed tougher AI rules won in states including Michigan, Ohio, Texas and Georgia, CNBC reported. A University of Southern California survey released Nov. 2 found that 71% of respondents don't trust big tech companies "at all" to act in society's best interest on data center development.cnbc.com

"People don't want a data center going near them if it's just going to house AI that's going to help a big tech company profit," University of Virginia behavioral scientist Maura Austin told CNBC. Renaissance Capital's Matt Kennedy disagreed with that framing, saying "a public company does not deserve more criticisms than a comparable private company."cnbc.com

Market jitters

Markets have also turned against the deal. On Nov. 5, the Nasdaq Composite had its steepest drop in 19 months, with chipmakers and neoclouds hit hardest. Potential investors are now questioning whether Anthropic can start its roadshow next week as planned and are pushing for a lower valuation, four people familiar with the discussions told Reuters, as carried by Kuwait Times. Those people said a delay could deepen concerns about the AI ecosystem at a time when ballot wins against data centers have "crystallized political opposition." Anthropic declined to comment.kuwaittimes.com