Anthropic IPO application sparks chip stock rally, $2 trillion valuation triggers debate

According to Woofun AI, Anthropic's submission of its initial public offering (IPO) application directly boosted sentiment in the tech sector, driving NVIDIA (NVDA.US) shares up 2.4% on Monday. The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 0.8% in turn, with Broadcom (AVGO.US) and Micron Technology (MU.US) also following the upward trend.

Although some investors previously expected its valuation to be only 1.5 trillion dollars due to slowing revenue growth, the plan to list on Nasdaq under the ticker "ANT" has sparked intense market speculation about a potential 2 trillion dollar valuation post-listing.

Data compiled by Woofun AI shows that Anthropic's revenue in the first half of the year reached 16.3 billion dollars, more than three times the full-year 2025 revenue of 4.6 billion dollars. However, as of June, its net loss reached 80.7 billion dollars, of which 72.4 billion dollars originated from non-cash expenses related to convertible bonds. Gill Luria, Head of Technology Research at DA Davidson, believes that even factoring in stock-based compensation, the loss is still manageable, and Amazon (AMZN.US), Alphabet (GOOGL.US), and Broadcom will benefit. Raj Joshi, Senior Vice President at Moody's, pointed out that improved operating profits are a positive signal for the industry.

Nevertheless, Paul Meeks, Head of Technology Research at Freedom Capital, expressed reservations about the adjusted operating profit margin of around 10% (adjusted operating profit of 1.62 billion dollars against revenue of 16.286 billion dollars in the first half). Nigel Green, CEO of financial advisory firm deVere Group, warned that if spending continues to exceed revenue, public shareholders will face risks arising from minimum spending standards stipulated by cloud service contracts.

It is worth noting, as highlighted by the CNBC panel discussion, that "ANT" provides retail investors with an AI investment avenue beyond chip stocks, mentioning that nearly 12,000 institutional clients now have annual expenditures of at least 100 thousand dollars—up from fewer than 1,000 a year ago. However, Goldman Sachs data shows retail investors' share of U.S. stock market trading volume has decreased from 15% last year to 9% now.

With the Federal Reserve announcing its decision on October 28 US Eastern Time (October 29 early morning Beijing time), and Google, Microsoft (MSFT.US), and Amazon releasing dense earnings reports, the market's focus will shift toward the resonance effect between macro factors and corporate performance. According to The Wall Street Journal, Anthropic aims to raise up to 100 billion dollars, with a valuation range between 1.5 trillion and 2 trillion dollars. The company could begin trading as early as November 16, and this pricing window will directly test Wall Street's genuine enthusiasm for the AI industry. In contrast, OpenAI is conducting pre-IPO bridge financing at a 1.25 trillion dollar pre-money valuation, aiming to raise up to 30 billion dollars, with its IPO possibly launching in the first half of 2027. Subsequent developments may become another key measure of the extent of the AI asset bubble.