Anthropic Taps Goldman and Morgan Stanley to Advance IPO, What Will Be the Impact of SpaceX Coopetition?
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Anthropic has selected Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs as lead underwriters for its IPO, potentially listing by October. The company raised $65 billion in late May, reaching a $965 billion valuation, fueled by rapid revenue growth and expected Q2 operating profit. This IPO occurs as SpaceX and OpenAI also prepare for listings. A significant concern for investors is the sustainability of Anthropic's substantial payment agreement with SpaceX for computing power, given Elon Musk's recent contradictory statements, introducing considerable uncertainty for both entities.
TradingKey - On June 3 ET, AI company Anthropic has reportedly selected Morgan Stanley ( MS) and Goldman Sachs ( GS) as lead underwriters for its initial public offering, with JPMorgan Chase also set to participate in the transaction. Sources familiar with the matter revealed that more investment banks may join the underwriting team in the future.
The move marks a substantive stage in Anthropic's IPO preparations. The company is considering a listing as early as this October and has confidentially submitted a draft IPO registration statement to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
In its Series H funding round in late May, Anthropic raised $65 billion, pushing its post-money valuation to $965 billion and surpassing its main competitor OpenAI ($852 billion) for the first time. This valuation has more than doubled from $380 billion in February and is now just a step away from the trillion-dollar mark.
The surge in the company's valuation is closely tied to its explosive revenue growth. In the first quarter of 2026, Anthropic's revenue reached $4.8 billion, and the second quarter is expected to exceed $10.9 billion, a quarterly increase of approximately 127%. Its annualized revenue jumped from $9 billion at the start of the year to about $45 billion in May, a fivefold increase in five months.
Furthermore, the company expects to achieve its first operating profit of approximately $559 million in the second quarter, making it the first frontier large model company in the world to reach quarterly profitability.
Relationship between Anthropic and SpaceX
TradingKey - Anthropic's IPO comes as SpaceX advances its own IPO at a valuation of $1.75 trillion to $2 trillion. SpaceX aims to raise up to $75 billion, with trading potentially beginning as early as mid-June; furthermore, OpenAI is reportedly preparing a confidential IPO filing.
If these three AI giants, with a combined market value of nearly $4 trillion, go public in succession within the same window, it will present an unprecedented test of the U.S. stock market's liquidity and absorption capacity.
Meanwhile, a subtle relationship exists between Anthropic and SpaceX. While SpaceX’s Grok large language model competes with Anthropic’s Claude, SpaceX is also one of Anthropic’s major suppliers.
According to previously released IPO documents, SpaceX and Anthropic reached a long-term agreement where Anthropic pays SpaceX $1.25 billion monthly for computing power leases, with the agreement valid until May 2029.
However, of concern to investors is that on the eve of the IPO, Musk shifted his stance on social platform X, stating the lease is only a 180-day short-term contract and was not included in SpaceX’s 300-plus page IPO filing, creating uncertainty regarding the partnership's sustainability.
This creates significant uncertainty for both entities. A unilateral cancellation of the agreement could impact short-term valuation expectations for both. Past experience suggests Musk may be the biggest wildcard in this partnership; investors should focus on whether Musk's moves will introduce greater valuation uncertainty for SpaceX and Anthropic.
This content was translated using AI and reviewed for clarity. It is for informational purposes only.
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