Anthropic eyes $1.5T IPO as FTX’s sold stake looks like a historic miss

Anthropic, the AI lab behind the Claude models, has filed its S-1 prospectus with the SEC. It is preparing for a Nasdaq listing under the ticker ANT, and the debut is anticipated before Thanksgiving 2026.

Early valuation talk centers around $1.5 trillion. For one group of people, that number stings more than most: the creditors of FTX, whose bankruptcy estate sold its Anthropic stake two years too early.

The filing and the numbers

The prospectus landed on October 26, 2026. If the reported valuation holds, the listing would rank among the largest IPOs in history.

That $1.5 trillion figure is actually a step down. Earlier estimates hovered near $2 trillion before a progressive slowdown in revenue growth cooled expectations.

Recent earnings showed a sequential revenue increase of 45%. For most companies, that would be a victory lap. For one being priced like a trillion-dollar rocket ship, it was enough to trim about half a trillion off the hopeful math.

Even the reduced figure would be a major leap. Anthropic was valued at $965 billion during a funding round in May 2026.

The top-line growth remains eye-catching. Anthropic reported revenue of $16.3 billion for the first half of 2026, a year-over-year jump of more than 1,300%.

The bottom line tells a messier story. The company posted a net loss of around $80.7 billion, driven primarily by extensive non-cash valuation adjustments, along with a reported operational loss of $693 million.

Put simply, most of that eye-watering loss is accounting, not cash leaving the building. The operating loss is the more grounded measure of what it costs to run the business, and it is far smaller.

The IPO could raise as much as $100 billion. Anthropic expects to use the proceeds to support infrastructure commitments estimated at $500 to $800 billion over the coming decades.

The FTX stake that got away

Back in 2022, FTX invested $500 million into Anthropic’s Series B round through its investment arm, Alameda Research.

That investment initially bought a stake of approximately 13.56%. Subsequent funding rounds diluted it down to 7.84%.

Then FTX collapsed. During bankruptcy proceedings, the estate divested the stake in two transactions during 2024, collecting about $1.34 billion.

The problem is what happened next. At a potential $1.5 trillion IPO valuation, that former stake could be worth between $91 billion and $118 billion on paper.

How we got here

Bankruptcy estates exist to recover value for creditors in an orderly way, not to make long-term venture bets. Selling the Anthropic shares in 2024 turned an illiquid private holding into roughly $1.34 billion of cash that could flow back toward people owed money.

Since then, Anthropic’s valuation has climbed through successive funding rounds, reaching $965 billion in May 2026. The IPO filing now puts a public-market price tag on that run.

What this means

For the crypto industry, the Anthropic stake has become a strange footnote to one of its darkest chapters. The paper gap between $1.34 billion realized and a potential $91 to $118 billion highlights the opportunity costs faced by FTX creditors amid the AI boom.

For public market investors, the Anthropic listing will be a test of how much they are willing to pay for hypergrowth paired with heavy losses. Revenue growth of more than 1,300% year-over-year is extraordinary, but the slowdown to 45% sequential growth already shaved down valuation expectations once.

The use of proceeds deserves close attention too. Infrastructure commitments of $500 to $800 billion dwarf even a $100 billion raise, which suggests Anthropic will need sustained access to capital for years to come.