Anthropic plans to match or beat the size of the Anthropic IPO versus SpaceX, targeting a listing at least as large as Elon Musk’s $75 billion mega-offering, according to a Bloomberg report citing anonymous sources.
SpaceX’s float, which reached $86.2 billion including the over-allotment, set a new benchmark. The number Anthropic must surpass if it wants the top spot outright is a valuation of $1.77 trillion.
Bloomberg said CFO Krishna Rao skirted questions on valuation during recent briefings with investors. Private investors valued Anthropic at $965 billion in May, and the company is expected to go public in the coming months.
Anthropic IPO versus SpaceX: the valuation gap
The distance between Anthropic’s last private valuation and SpaceX’s market cap is considerable. Whether the AI company can close it will depend on investor appetite for an industry that has seen sky-high multiples become routine.
OpenAI, the other major AI firm widely expected to list, is believed to be aiming for a 2027 debut.
China’s humanoid moment puts pressure on US rivals
The IPO race is playing out against a widening technology rivalry with China. Unitree, a Chinese robotics company, saw its shares surge 460% on their first day of trading following its blockbuster listing. According to Yahoo Finance, Unitree raised approximately 6.1 billion yuan ($905 million) in total proceeds from the offering.
Authorities in Hangzhou have already deputised a 6-foot-2-inch humanoid robot, tasking it with waving traffic and admonishing jaywalkers. The Unitree listing has turbocharged calls for the United States to accelerate its own humanoid robotics programme.
Super Micro clears executives over alleged smuggling ring
Super Micro Computer said on Thursday that an independent board investigation found no evidence that current senior management knew about an alleged scheme to smuggle $2.5 billion in hardware loaded with Nvidia chips to China.
The announcement followed a difficult five months for the server manufacturer after the U.S. Department of Justice indicted co-founder and board member Yih-Shyan “Wally” Liaw in March.
Super Micro offered few specifics on what the board-led probe uncovered, saying only that it found no evidence the chief executive and senior management were aware of the alleged ring.
Separately, a parallel investigation in Taiwan led to four Supermicro employees being detained for questioning last month in connection with sales to a tech company. The company has also received a federal grand jury subpoena in New York.
Trump backs data centres as a political winner
President Donald Trump pushed back against bipartisan criticism of data centres this week, arguing the facilities bring jobs and tax revenue to local communities.
“If I were the mayor of a town or the governor of a state, and I had a chance to get a big plant in, an AI plant or a data centre,” Trump said at a White House event with cryptocurrency leaders, “I would absolutely want it because the jobs are enormous and the money paid, the taxes paid, are just enormous.”
Critics from both parties have argued that data centres drive up energy costs and harm the environment. With midterm elections approaching, Trump framed the issue as an opportunity rather than a liability.
Anthropic’s own IPO timetable, and how its valuation compares with SpaceX when it finally lists, will be among the defining moments for AI market confidence in the months ahead.
