New step in Anthropic IPO as report shows $80.8bn half year loss

Anthropic plans one of the biggest ever IPOs, which is a first sale of its shares to the public. It has now published information about its business in a US report.

Anthropic, the maker of the Claude chatbot, published its finances in a US report before its IPO. In the first half of 2026 it had a loss of $80.8bn on revenue of $16.3bn. In the same period of 2025 the loss was $13bn on revenue of $1.2bn. Its private funds round in May valued it at $965bn.

What the report says

Anthropic says its primary aim is to be a foundation model company, which makes the basic AI models. It can compete with app startups from time to time in select categories. European startups have long feared that model makers can launch rival products.

The numbers

• Revenue in the first half of 2026: $16.3bn, against $1.2bn a year before.
• Loss in the first half of 2026: $80.8bn.
• No customer gave more than 10% of revenue in the nine months to 30 September 2026.

What is not known

Anthropic names no categories. It warns that many customers are startups and tech firms that can cut spending in a downturn. It says its aim at enterprise customers and its talent make it different.

Insight: Slower AI and the race for the frontier pull against each other

On 14 October Anthropic co-founder Clark said AI development must be slower. The report says Anthropic is different because it can stay at the frontier, and it had a loss of $80.8bn in six months. This reads as a race in which a lone slowdown costs Anthropic its edge. Calls for a slower pace seem to be necessary for all rivals. Safety words and speed can pull against each other.