Anthropic IPO filing

Anthropic draft S-1 shows $80 billion first-half loss

Revenue jumped to $16.3 billion from $1.1 billion a year earlier, while the company plans $750 billion in compute spending.

By Elliot Marsh, Startups and markets correspondent2 min read
Illustration: Anthropic office building exterior sign
Illustration: Anthropic office building exterior sign Illustration: Venturist

Anthropic’s draft S-1, obtained by The Wall Street Journal, shows the company is seeking to go public at a $2 trillion valuation while reporting an $80 billion net loss for the first half of 2026 [1][2]. Fortune reports the first-half loss as $80 billion, up from $13 billion a year earlier, while TronWeekly puts the figure at $80.7 billion [1][2]. TronWeekly, citing the draft prospectus, says about $72 billion of that loss stemmed from accounting write-offs related to changes in the value of convertible notes and other instruments, not cash outflows [2].

Revenue in the first six months of 2026 was $16.3 billion, up from $1.1 billion a year earlier, according to the filing [1][2]. Full-year 2025 revenue was $4.6 billion [1]. The company spent $9 billion on compute and infrastructure during the first half, versus $2.3 billion a year earlier [1][2]. That six-month figure already exceeds the $7.3 billion spent in all of 2025 [2]. Anthropic plans to spend $750 billion on compute over the coming years. The company has also signed $450 billion of mostly noncancellable cloud contracts covering the next seven to 10 years [1][2]. Most of those contracts cannot be reversed, according to the filing [2].

The draft prospectus lists $111 billion of planned investments with Google Cloud, $110 billion with Amazon Web Services, and $31 billion with Microsoft [2]. TechCrunch reported on October 20 that Anthropic has had difficulty securing sufficient cloud computing capacity from AWS, Google, and Microsoft, which now view it as both a client and a rival [2]. Anthropic is also leasing its own data centers and working with third-party providers that have limited operating histories, the filing says [2].

TechCrunch reported that two customers were responsible for about a fifth of Anthropic’s first-half revenue [2]. Reuters reported on October 14 that third-quarter revenue came in at $16.8 billion, up 45% from the prior quarter, signaling growth continued after the first half [2]. The write-off explains a large part of the recorded loss and does not represent a similar amount of cash leaving the business, according to TronWeekly [2].

The draft risks include the possibility that Anthropic's product could break into other companies' systems or extort its own customers [1]. The filing also says harmful AI behavior could subject the company to legal claims beyond its insurance coverage [2]. The filing identifies customer concentration and political pushback against building data centers in the U.S. as additional risks [2].

CEO Dario Amodei and President Daniela Amodei each had a base salary of $655,000 in 2025 [1]. The bulk of their pay comes in stock, with total compensation valued at $18 million for Dario and $16.5 million for Daniela [1]. Anthropic is seeking capital to pay for chips, data centers, staff, and AI development, TronWeekly reports [2]. The company reportedly aims for a November IPO and is likely to file its public offering documents in the coming weeks [2].

To report an error in this article, write to corrections@venturistnews.com. Corrections log.

Elliot Marsh covers startups, IPO filings and the money behind them for Venturist. Elliot writes from SEC filings, company announcements and published reporting.

More from Elliot