Anthropic files for IPO: $16.3 billion in first-half revenue and founders keep 50.1% of voting power

Anthropic, the developer of Claude, filed its Form S-1 with the SEC, the U.S. stock market regulator, on October 26, 2026. This is the official document that precedes an initial public offering. The company is requesting to list its Class A shares on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker “ANT”. The number of shares and the price range have not yet been set. Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are leading a syndicate of about twenty banks.

Beyond the announcement, the prospectus published on EDGAR, the SEC’s database, provides the first detailed look at the accounts of a major AI lab.

Unprecedented growth

Revenue grew from $41 million in 2023 to $386 million in 2024, then $4.585 billion in 2025. In the first half of 2026, it reached $16.286 billion, versus $1.163 billion a year earlier. In the second quarter alone, Anthropic reports a 1,368% year-over-year increase, while its compute and infrastructure spending rose “only” 300%.

The customer base is following: more than 11,900 customers exceed $100,000 in trailing twelve-month revenue as of September 30, 2026, versus just over 950 a year earlier, and about 250 exceed $10 million. The net revenue retention rate, which measures how much more existing customers spend year over year, is approximately 900%.

A giant loss, mostly accounting

The striking figure is the net loss of $80.7 billion in the first half of 2026. It must be read carefully: $72.4 billion comes from the revaluation of convertible notes and other financial instruments, a non-cash entry that the company attributes to the increase in its own valuation. The business itself is nearly at breakeven: the operating loss fell to $693 million, versus $2.135 billion a year earlier.

Compute remains the largest expense item ($8.945 billion for the half). Anthropic holds $131.7 billion in cash and short-term investments as of June 30. The 2025 accounts also include a $1.5 billion charge for the settlement of the Bartz litigation, a copyright case.

A locked-down governance

This is the most unusual part of the filing. Anthropic is a Delaware public benefit corporation, required to balance shareholder interests with its mission, “the responsible development and maintenance of advanced AI for the long-term benefit of humanity.”

• The Long-Term Benefit Trust, a body of trustees with no financial interest, elects through Class T shares the directors who will form the majority of the board.
• A single Class F share, held by a company of the seven co-founders (including Dario and Daniela Amodei), will carry 50.1% of the voting rights on other matters submitted to shareholders, including the election of the other directors. It carries no economic rights.
• Employees will receive Class E shares, with limited voting rights; strategic partners mainly hold Class N shares, with no voting rights.

Future Class A shareholders will therefore have one vote per share, but not control: Anthropic declares itself a controlled company under Nasdaq rules. The company has also transferred 5% of its fully diluted capital (846.8 million Class N shares) to a subsidiary, the Anthropic Public Benefit Fund, tasked with funding projects related to its mission.