AI startup Anthropic has postponed its initial public offering (IPO) from October to November. The creator of the Claude AI chatbot still aims to raise $100 billion with a valuation of $2 trillion, which would surpass the $75 billion raised by SpaceX at a $1.8 trillion valuation earlier this year.
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An important update accompanies the IPO delay: Anthropic now projects its annualized revenue will exceed $110 billion by the end of the year. This new forecast could decrease its IPO valuation multiple, particularly in contrast to SpaceX's valuation structure.
When SpaceX went public, it had a lofty valuation multiple of around 93.6 times sales, while the S&P 500 traded at about 3.5 times sales. Anthropic is trying to exceed SpaceX's valuation but is targeting a lower valuation multiple. Originally, with a $2 trillion target and $65 billion in annualized revenue, Anthropic faced a price-to-sales multiple of 30 times. Following the delay and updated revenue expectations, this multiple is projected to be around 18 times at a $2 trillion valuation.
The company has drawn considerable attention due to its rapid growth. Last year, Anthropic reported approximately $10 billion in revenue, and for the second quarter of this year, it noted $11.5 billion, representing a 14-fold increase year-over-year. The annualized revenue run rate reached $47 billion in May and is expected to more than double by year-end. Looking ahead, Anthropic projects revenues between $190 billion and $200 billion by 2028, indicating a potential decline in its price-to-sales multiple to around 10 times in the coming years.