Anthropic plans to spend $518 billion on AI infrastructure over the coming years, according to the company’s IPO prospectus reviewed by Reuters. A bet framed as comparable to the industrial revolution, electricity and the internet combined — yet one that has left pre-IPO perpetual contracts listed on crypto exchanges largely unmoved.
🔑 Key Takeaways
- Anthropic plans $518 billion in AI infrastructure spending over several years, disclosed in its IPO prospectus.
- Pre-IPO perps trade at $1,998, down roughly 2% in 24 hours and 10% below the September 9 record of $2,211.
- Implied valuation reaches about $2 trillion versus $965 billion at the Series H closed in late May.
- 2025 net loss of $42 billion includes $34 billion in accounting charges; revenue grew 12x to $4.6 billion.
- The IPO is expected after the November 2026 midterm elections, led by Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley.
A spending plan without precedent
Anthropic’s IPO prospectus, reviewed by Reuters, reveals an outsized ambition: $518 billion in AI infrastructure outlays over the coming years. The filing frames this commitment as a strategic wager that AI will transform the global economy more than industrialization, electricity or the internet combined. The projection lands amid an accelerating arms race between Anthropic, OpenAI and other major players in the sector.
Yet the announcement triggered only a muted reaction on the market for synthetic derivatives that replicate Anthropic’s implied pre-listing valuation. Pre-IPO perpetual contracts remain close to their equilibrium level, a sign that traders are digesting the information without reshuffling their exposure.
Pre-IPO perps at a standstill
Across the main crypto venues, Anthropic pre-IPO perpetual contracts traded at roughly $1,998 on Tuesday, down about 2% over 24 hours, according to CoinMarketCap data. That price remains roughly 10% below the September 9 record of $2,211. The $1,998 mark corresponds to an implied valuation of approximately $2 trillion, in line with estimates cited by Reuters.
The table below summarizes the market structure:
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| Pre-IPO perp price | $1,998 |
| 24-hour change | ~-2% |
| September 9 record | $2,211 |
| Discount to record | -10% |
| Implied valuation | ~$2 trillion |
| Platforms listing the contract | 12 |
| Total open interest | > $100 million |
| Binance share | > 30% |
| Hyperliquid (Entropy) open interest | $36 million |
| Hyperliquid 24-hour volume | ~$6 million |
| Hyperliquid open positions | $31 million |
“The premium on the pre-IPO market incorporates publicly available information, notably expected revenue figures and anticipated demand for the stock. The market is not very deep, and liquidity should improve as the listing approaches.”
Heng Yu Lee, DWF Labs
Heng Yu Lee, a partner at market maker DWF Labs active on these instruments, told Euronews that the direction of prices fairly accurately reflects shifting sentiment toward the company as developments unfold. Worth noting: these contracts are cash-settled synthetic derivatives that track Anthropic’s implied valuation without conferring any equity stake.
A mixed financial picture
Anthropic’s financials, also disclosed in the prospectus, lay bare the scale of the economic challenges despite spectacular growth. The company posted a net loss of $42 billion in 2025. Roughly $34 billion of that figure corresponds to an accounting charge tied to a financing round that may later convert into equity, rather than an operating cash expense.
On an operating basis, excluding depreciation linked to past fundraising rounds, the loss exceeds $8 billion. Revenue, meanwhile, grew twelvefold over the year to reach nearly $4.6 billion. Almost a quarter of that amount comes from just two customers, and the company warned that many of its largest clients are not bound by long-term contracts. At the end of 2025, Anthropic held $20.28 billion in cash and short-term investments.
| 2025 Financial Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Net loss | $42 billion |
| Convertible accounting charge | ~$34 billion |
| Adjusted operating loss | > $8 billion |
| Revenue | ~$4.6 billion |
| Annual growth | x12 |
| Share from top two customers | ~25% |
| Cash and short-term investments | $20.28 billion |
| Annualized revenue (end of July) | > $65 billion |
Annualized revenue cleared $65 billion by the end of July, driven by enterprise adoption of Claude. Amazon has committed up to $33 billion in investment into the company, while Anthropic has committed to spend more than $100 billion on Amazon Web Services technology over the next decade.
IPO timeline and expected valuation
Anthropic’s IPO is expected after the November US midterm elections and could value the company at more than $2 trillion, more than double the $965 billion valuation from its Series H round closed in late May. That $65 billion Series H round, led by Altimeter Capital, Dragoneer, Greenoaks and Sequoia, was followed by several additional tranches bringing the total raised to roughly $64.9 billion at rising valuations.
The $965 billion valuation represents a near-sixteenfold increase in roughly twelve months from the $61.5 billion mark one year earlier. Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley are leading the deal, which is expected to raise more than $60 billion. The company has confidentially filed its IPO paperwork and selected the Nasdaq for its market debut.
Anthropic announced its confidential S-1 filing on June 1, 2026. According to a CNBC report cited by Reuters in September 2026, marketing of the offering could begin as early as mid-October. In parallel, CEO Dario Amodei published an essay titled We Must Pace the Frontier, arguing for a voluntary slowdown in the pace of improvement of the most powerful models.
ETFs, rivals and market signals
Issuers are already preparing ETF products tied to the Anthropic share. Direxion has filed with the SEC to launch the Direxion Daily Anthropic Bull 2X ETF and the Direxion Daily Anthropic Bear 2X ETF, which are expected to begin trading shortly after the company’s effective IPO. These products remain subject to SEC approval and are not guaranteed.
On Hyperliquid, the Anthropic market managed by Entropy hit an all-time high of roughly $2.36 trillion in implied market capitalization, putting the valuation around $2.15 trillion at the time of writing, about 2.2x the Series H valuation. The market remains shallow, however: only $6 million of volume trades in 24 hours, with $31 million in open positions.
“The direction in which prices move generally reflects fairly accurately the change in sentiment toward the company as developments unfold.”
Heng Yu Lee, partner, DWF Labs
In the background, OpenAI made its own confidential filing on June 8, 2026. Its CEO Sam Altman, however, told Fortune magazine that going public this year would be unwise, ruling out 2026 and declining to commit to 2027. Anthropic’s listing window could therefore remain the headline event for the listed AI sector by year-end.
Conclusion
Anthropic’s $518 billion AI spending announcement marks a turning point in the ambition on display across the sector, without destabilizing the pre-IPO perp market. The relative stability of the contracts reflects both the premium already priced in and the limited depth of the market. Three scenarios are taking shape as the listing approaches: if the IPO launches after the November elections with a valuation above $2 trillion, perps should converge toward the reference price; a delay or downgrade in valuation would trigger a downward reset; finally, an acceleration in Claude adoption could sustain demand and push prices past the September 9 record of $2,211.
In any case, liquidity on the pre-IPO market should deepen as the listing date firms up, giving crypto traders synthetic exposure to one of the most closely watched deals of the year.
Sources
- CoinDesk — Anthropic plans to spend $518B on AI infrastructure
- Euronews — Markets value Anthropic at over $2 trillion ahead of IPO
- ThinkMarkets — How to trade Anthropic and OpenAI pre-IPO
- Direxion — Anthropic IPO ETF
- Forge Global — Anthropic IPO
- Liquid — Trade Anthropic before IPO
This article is for informational and educational purposes only. It does not constitute investment advice. Do your own research (DYOR) before making any decision.
