Institutional demand for Anthropic’s initial public offering has surged to about six times the shares on offer, Reuters reported on Friday, putting the $64 billion listing on course to be one of the largest debuts on record.
The order book stood at about twice the shares available at the end of Tuesday, the first day of the roadshow, and had reached six times by the end of Thursday, people familiar with the deal told Reuters. The roadshow, which is taking the company to investors in New York, Boston and San Francisco, runs through next Wednesday, when the shares are expected to be priced. Trading is due to begin the following day on Nasdaq under the ticker ANT. Demand is outpacing the early days of SpaceX’s roadshow, which was twice oversubscribed by the end of its second day.
Separately, Bloomberg reported that banks working on the deal have refused orders from institutional investors based in mainland China and Hong Kong, or told them allocations were unlikely, partly because of US arms-trade rules. Some of the investors turned away are still trying to buy in, including through offshore trusts, special-purpose vehicles and swap deals, according to the reports. The exclusion mirrors SpaceX’s listing earlier this year, when underwriters were told not to accept orders from buyers in mainland China and Hong Kong. Anthropic did not comment on either report.
Investors are wrestling with two questions as they weigh the offering: whether Anthropic can hold its lead as Alphabet’s Google closes the gap in advanced AI models, and whether its Claude chatbot can move beyond coding into the wider market for knowledge workers. Some investors are also uneasy about the limited information on offer. One attendee told Reuters the company had not answered some questions in detail, and one group meeting had no dial-in for investors to ask questions. Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, the lead underwriters, largely read from prepared remarks at that meeting, the investor said.
Revenue is at the centre of the valuation debate. Sell-side projections put Anthropic’s revenue at about $52 billion to $53 billion this year, rising to $135 billion to $137 billion in 2027, while banks estimate 2028 revenue at $270 billion to $280 billion, the figure underpinning valuation models. Some buy-side forecasts run 10 to 15 percent higher for 2026 and 2027, but one investor who examined the deal and decided not to take part has a far more cautious outlook, about 30 percent below the sell-side estimate for 2028. SpaceX and CrowdStrike are among the companies being used as valuation benchmarks.
Note: the demand figures and the restrictions on investors in China and Hong Kong rest on anonymous sources. Anthropic declined to comment on both reports, and the terms of the deal, including the level of demand, could still change before pricing.
Sources: Reuters — “Investors flock to Anthropic IPO but question durability of AI lead”, https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/investors-flock-anthropic-ipo-question-durability-ai-lead-2026-11-13/ ; Bloomberg (via Advisor Perspectives) — “Anthropic IPO Share Orders From China Are Said to Be Rebuffed”, https://www.advisorperspectives.com/articles/2026/11/13/anthropic-ipo-share-orders-china-rebuffed
