Anthropic has selected the Nasdaq as the exchange for its potential initial public offering, according to a report by Business Insider earlier Sunday. The Claude AI maker is targeting a valuation of approximately $2 trillion.

Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA) is reportedly considering an investment of up to $10 billion in Anthropic’s potential initial public offering. The company seeks to raise as much as $100 billion in what could become the largest IPO in history.

Nvidia’s Anchor Role

Reuters reported on Friday that Nvidia is weighing becoming an anchor investor, citing people familiar with the discussions. Anchor investors typically commit to buying a portion of an IPO before broader marketing, providing early confidence to attract other buyers. These talks remain preliminary and subject to change. Neither Anthropic nor Nvidia immediately responded to requests for comment.

Anthropic closed at $218.29 on Friday, down 0.03% for the session. In after-hours trading, the stock was at $218.26, down 0.01%.

Valuation and Revenue Growth

The proposed $2 trillion valuation represents a sharp increase from Anthropic’s $965 billion post-money valuation following its May Series H raise of $65 billion. The company confidentially filed for an IPO at this higher expected valuation. Share terms and pricing remain undisclosed.

Revenue growth has accelerated significantly:

• End of 2025: ~$9 billion annualized run rate
• Early May: $47 billion run rate
• End of July: Above $65 billion annualized pace

Anthropic is basing part of its valuation expectations on a forecast of $190 billion to $200 billion in revenue for 2028. The IPO is expected before the November U.S. midterm elections.

Private Market Demand

Private-market demand is intensifying as investors seek access before the public offering. Jim Neesen, founding executive of Connor Group, noted that securing private shares often proves easier than waiting for IPO allocations, which may carry higher prices and stricter access controls.

"Securing shares in the private market often beats waiting for an IPO allocation, where pricing will likely be even higher and access more competitive," Neesen said.

The NYSE OpenVC Unicorn Index placed Anthropic’s implied private valuation at $1.17 trillion as of Sept. 2, a roughly 21% premium to its latest primary-market valuation. David Shapiro, founder and CEO of OpenVC, attributed the rise to anticipation of the $2 trillion IPO target.

Demand extends beyond traditional venture capital firms to include retail investors, family offices, private funds, and private equity firms. "Buyers are pricing in where they believe the company will be, not just where it is today," Neesen added.

Strategic Infrastructure Ties

Anthropic relies heavily on Nvidia GPUs while also expanding its use of Amazon.com Inc.’s (NASDAQ: AMZN) Trainium chips and Alphabet Inc.’s (NASDAQ: GOOG/GOOGL) Google TPUs. The company has committed to spending more than $100 billion with Amazon Web Services over a decade and plans to use more than 1 million Trainium2 chips.

Anthropic is also building an internal chip-design team to design chips for its AI model Claude.

ETF Exposure and Leadership

The Tema Photonics & Optical ETF (NASDAQ: LAZR) holds a 15% weight in Anthropic through a special purpose vehicle. The fund initially invested in July at a $1.8 trillion valuation but acquired substantially more exposure at a lower valuation in its latest transaction.

Recent leadership appointments include:

• Matt Clifford: Managing Director of International Affairs, based in London.
• Robert Mahari: Head of Claude for Legal.
• Andrej Karpathy: Co-founder of OpenAI and former Tesla AI director, hired in May.

What the Numbers Show

The divergence between Anthropic’s primary market valuation ($965 billion) and its private secondary trading level ($1.17 trillion) highlights intense scarcity-driven demand. With revenue run rates accelerating from roughly $9 billion at the end of 2025 to over $65 billion by July, investors are aggressively pricing in future scale rather than current profitability metrics. The potential $10 billion Nvidia anchor investment underscores the strategic importance of GPU infrastructure in valuing AI-native companies.

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has identified China as the "toughest dilemma" in his proposal to decelerate global artificial intelligence progress, citing significant military incentives that complicate international coordination.

Amodei stated on CBS News that implementing a global speed limit on AI advancement is difficult due to the large military advantages gained from pulling ahead. He acknowledged uncertainty regarding feasibility but emphasized the necessity of attempting such measures.

Industry Response and IPO Delays

The call for a slowdown follows an essay by Amodei urging AI companies to pace their advancements amid warnings of catastrophic risks. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman supported the proposal, stating the need to "pace the frontier." Consequently, OpenAI has decided to delay its initial public offering plans for 2026 due to unresolved safety concerns and alignment challenges.

Other industry leaders have also backed the initiative:

• Demis Hassabis of Alphabet Inc.'s Google DeepMind (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL) supports the proposal.
• Elon Musk, CEO of Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ: SPCX), reiterated warnings about AI risks, describing artificial general intelligence as potentially more dangerous than nuclear weapons.
• Former White House AI and Crypto Czar David Sacks supported the slowdown but urged companies to acknowledge their motivations.

What the Numbers Show

A divergence exists between the proposed regulatory approach and geopolitical reality. While Amodei calls for coordinated global action, analyst Dan Ives noted that China is unlikely to slow down its AI advancements. This suggests that unilateral or Western-led slowdowns may face asymmetric competitive pressure, as the primary rival in the AI race does not appear aligned with the proposed deceleration framework.

Growing Safety Concerns

The push for caution comes as Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon resigned over concerns about the company's approach. Former President Barack Obama has called for increased oversight of AI, stressing the need for a clear policy framework to manage potential dangers.

Amodei's three-step plan includes third-party evaluations and coordination between AI companies and governments. The debate highlights the tension between rapid technological deployment and long-term safety alignment in the global AI sector.