Anthropic said in a filing made public on Monday that it plans to sell as much as 552.9 billion yen of shares to Japanese investors as part of its U.S. initial public offering. Reuters calculated that amount as about $3.5 billion, using an exchange rate of 157.82 yen per dollar. The filing stated that the yen figure was the maximum value of shares to be sold to investors in Japan.
The document did not disclose the total size of the U.S. offering or a valuation at which the shares would be sold. Reuters has previously reported that some investors have discussed valuing Anthropic at about $1.5 trillion. That figure was not confirmed in the filing. The filing therefore does not tell investors how large the overall IPO will be or what price range the company expects.
According to the filing, proceeds from the shares sold to Japanese investors would be used for working capital, operating expenses and capital expenditure. Those three uses were the stated purpose of the Japanese share sale.
Reuters reported that at SpaceX's initial public offering in June, which it described as the world's largest ever, investors in Japan secured shares worth $2.2 billion out of the $75 billion raised. The SpaceX figure came from Reuters' reporting, not from Anthropic's filing.
The Anthropic filing therefore sets a yen-denominated maximum for Japanese investors while leaving the total IPO size and valuation undisclosed. The document's disclosure centers on the amount available to one investor group, not the full terms of the offering. Anthropic did not state the total amount it intends to raise in the U.S. offering.
The filing thus shows a planned sale of up to 552.9 billion yen, or about $3.5 billion, of shares to Japanese investors. It does not give the total size of the IPO or the company's valuation. The proceeds are earmarked for working capital, operating expenses and capital spending. Reuters has reported that some investors have discussed valuing Anthropic at about $1.5 trillion. The filing did not confirm that valuation.
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Elliot Marsh covers startups, IPO filings and the money behind them for Venturist. Elliot writes from SEC filings, company announcements and published reporting.