Artificial intelligence giant Anthropic is preparing for one of history’s largest floats, with a proposed valuation reaching up to $2.85 trillion. Australian retail investors are set to gain access to this significant initial public offering (IPO), which will see the developer behind the Claude platform list on the Nasdaq. Anthropic is an artificial intelligence developer. It is known for creating the Claude platform, a rival to other major AI models.
IG Australia became an early local stockbroking platform to promote access, offering traders a chance to acquire a single share in the company. CommSec, the country’s largest retail stockbroker, is also expected to market Anthropic’s IPO directly to Australian investors, a role it previously held for Elon Musk’s SpaceX listing. That prior IPO saw over 28,000 Australian investors apply for shares, significantly exceeding previous records for the platform.
Anthropic confidentially filed for its listing in June and is now expecting to commence trading on the Nasdaq next month, having lodged its prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Macquarie Capital, one of 22 underwriters, is anticipated to oversee the Australian component of the offering. Michael Jones, IG Australia’s managing director, highlighted strong local demand for stakes in AI companies, noting that securing allocations in large US IPOs has historically been challenging for Australian retail investors.
Early indications from IG’s CFD market, a speculative derivative product, suggest Anthropic could attract even greater interest than SpaceX. Trading volumes for Anthropic in this market have increased more than 27-fold since launch. Morningstar also noted that the float’s timing, post-US midterm elections, could benefit from greater visibility on policy direction and a clearer picture of performance across the AI sector, which could work in Anthropic’s favour.
