Anthropic Picks Nasdaq While Its CEO Tells the Industry to Pace
Business Insider and Reuters report Anthropic selected Nasdaq for a potential October IPO; the FT says the company told investors adjusted operating income was positive for a second consecutive quarter on $11.5 billion of Q2 revenue. Not a pricing.
Corrected October 14, 2026: Sourced the FT profit details to its Irish Times syndication; removed an unsourced claim that Anthropic had a confidential S-1 on file since June, plus the related 15-day rule line; corrected the source for Altman's no-2026-IPO remark (Fortune).
Anthropic is trying to be the first US frontier lab to list while its CEO tells the industry to pace. The venue pick and the second-profit claim are the new facts; a ~$2 trillion valuation print is still talk.
Business Insider (September 13), relayed by Reuters, said Anthropic has selected Nasdaq for a potential October IPO. Some accounts float a $2 trillion valuation versus SpaceX’s $1.75 trillion — talk, not a filed range. Same weekend FT: Anthropic told a small investor group adjusted operating income will be positive for a second consecutive quarter; Q2 revenue $11.5 billion (14× YoY from ~$787 million); ARR $65 billion end-July vs $9 billion end-2025; gross margins >80% before Amazon-style distribution share and training cost. Not a priced deal. OpenAI contrast: Altman ruled out a 2026 IPO to Fortune on September 12.
Limits#
- Watch for public financials, and whether Nvidia as IPO anchor (Reuters September 11 talks) makes the S-1.
- Venue selection and investor briefing are not a priced deal.
Sources#
- Business Insider: Anthropic selects Nasdaq for IPO (September 13, 2026)
- Reuters: Anthropic selects Nasdaq for IPO, Business Insider reports (September 13, 2026)
- Financial Times: Anthropic profit briefing (September 13, 2026)
- The Irish Times (FT syndication): Anthropic tells investors it will be profitable for second straight quarter (September 14, 2026)
- Times of AI: Anthropic Q2 2026 revenue (August 14); Anthropic supervoting stock and IPO (August 18)
- Bloomberg Law: Anthropic Revenue Surges to Over $11.5 Billion in Second Quarter (August 14, 2026)
- Fortune: Sam Altman: OpenAI won’t go public this year as IPO now would come at an ‘ill-advised moment’ (September 12, 2026)