Anthropic nears $15B credit facility ahead of IPO

Anthropic is close to finalizing a $15 billion revolving credit facility, according to Bloomberg News, as the artificial intelligence company clears one of the last financial hurdles ahead of a widely anticipated initial public offering.bloomberg

A Record-Setting Credit Line

The credit facility, led by Morgan Stanley ↗ 0.26%, represents a sharp increase from the $2.5 billion revolver the Claude chatbot maker secured last year. Goldman Sachs ↗ 0.07%, JPMorgan Chase ↘ 0.94%, and Citigroup ↘ 0.30% also hold prominent roles in the arrangement, Bloomberg reported. All four banks are also leading Anthropic's IPO process.cryptobriefing+1

The facility had been expected to exceed a roughly $10 billion target, Bloomberg reported in August, as banks jockeyed for positions that could strengthen their pitch for underwriting roles on the listing. The final $15 billion figure surpassed even those raised expectations.bloomberg+1

IPO on the Horizon

The credit line functions as a liquidity bridge, giving Anthropic the flexibility to time its public debut without immediate funding pressure. The company filed a confidential S-1 with the SEC in early June, and Reuters and Axios have reported a listing window of late September to early October, with the public prospectus potentially arriving as soon as the week of September 8.newsquawk+3

Anthropic's last private valuation stood at $965 billion following a $65 billion Series H round that closed in late May, led by Altimeter Capital, Dragoneer, Greenoaks, and Sequoia Capital. Some market participants have eyed IPO valuations between $1.75 trillion and $2 trillion.anthropic+1

A Broader AI Funding Race

The deal underscores the scale of capital flowing into frontier AI development. Anthropic's credit facility dwarfs the roughly $5 billion in available credit lines that rival OpenAI has assembled. Meanwhile, Chinese AI startup Moonshot AI also filed confidentially for a Hong Kong IPO on Thursday at a $50 billion valuation, according to Reuters, adding to a growing wave of AI companies preparing to go public.economictimes.indiatimes+1

The question now is whether Anthropic draws on the facility or holds it in reserve. Historically, undrawn standby lines of this nature have preceded public offerings rather than replaced them.newsquawk