Trading is expected to begin next week, according to media reports. Last week, Anthropic, which is behind the AI service Claude, announced a price range of $70-78 per share ahead of its IPO.
A price of $78 would give the company a market capitalization of a staggering $1.4 trillion (nearly SEK 14,000 billion, or almost twice Sweden's estimated GDP in 2026).
There has previously been talk of a valuation of up to $2 trillion, but concerns within the AI industry have dampened expectations.
This will actually be the first time that investors can invest in a pure-play AI company, one that develops AI. Otherwise, there has been a lot of investment in the companies that make AI possible, that is, the hardware and infrastructure around it, says Robert Oldstrand at Swedbank.
“Volatile in the short term”
According to him, Anthropic’s IPO will be an important test for the entire AI market.
It’s a completely new industry that’s emerging, so the market is a bit uncertain about what kind of profitability there is in this. At the same time, they want to continue to see that they grow as they have and that the company meets its commitments.
Part of the concern is that Anthropic is not alone in developing AI models, says Oldstrand.
There are some competitors. Will AI be a service that many deliver? Can it continue to grow then? In the short term, the stock could be volatile.
At the moment, however, there are few, if any, signs that demand is declining, he notes.
But if you look ahead, it’s important to see how this growth continues to develop.
“Sustain the company for years”
Johan Hägglund, whose company Tioex has invested in Anthropic, absolutely sees risks with the company's IPO.
Last summer, there were promises of riches and the horizon was completely open. Now, however, we have seen some growth from certain AI companies. Then there is also the possible regulatory issue in the US.
For the Swedish tech sector, the IPO will be “extremely important”, he says. If the listing goes badly, it will affect the entire sector.
However, despite a lower listing than expected, Hägglund sees a robust company.
If we had seen, when the prospectus came out, that it was concentrated on a few customers, it would have been worrying. But we have an extremely broad customer base and if Anthropic can increase the volume a little bit among the larger companies in the US, it will sustain the company for many years.
What do you think?