Some Australian investment chiefs are cautious about Anthropic's IPO plans
Anthropic is about to launch an IPO and plans to sell shares directly to Australian investors, but some Australian investment chiefs are cautious about it. UniSuper Chief Investment Officer John Pearce believes that a valuation of about $2 trillion may be "a bit of a stretch," and that the company is still posting huge losses, making positive cash flow within three to four years a "difficult goal." Documents show that Anthropic had revenue of $16.3 billion and a net loss of $80.7 billion in the first half of 2026.
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Anthropic PBC's upcoming blockbuster initial public offering (IPO) brings a new artificial intelligence investment target to the Australian market, though some local investment chiefs are cautious about it.
"This is an amazing company," John Pearce, chief investment officer of Australian pension fund UniSuper, said Thursday during a panel discussion at the CFA Australia Investment Conference in Melbourne. As for whether this "can translate into an excellent investment, that is another matter."
Anthropic's filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday shows that, as part of the IPO, the company will offer shares directly to Australian investors after submitting a prospectus to the Australian securities regulator.
Pearce said Anthropic's valuation of about $2 trillion may be "a bit of a stretch." He also said the company is still in a state of massive losses, and achieving positive cash flow and generating substantial profits within three to four years will be a "tough goal."
The filing submitted on Monday shows that Anthropic generated revenue of $16.3 billion in the first half of 2026 and a net loss of $80.7 billion; in the same period last year, revenue was $1.2 billion and the net loss was $13 billion.
Martin Crabb, chief investment officer of Shaw and Partners Ltd., said at the same panel discussion that with SpaceX listing, Anthropic about to list and OpenAI advancing its IPO plans, a large number of new shares are flooding into the market.
"I am somewhat cautious about the whole area," he said, adding that he has questions about why these companies chose this moment to enter the public market.
Kylie Willment, chief investment officer for the Pacific region at Marsh Investments and Retirement, said active fund managers will make judgments about Anthropic's valuation. "Overall, we see fund managers taking a fairly cautious attitude toward this," she said at the event. news_keyword_pub,usstock, iframe below main text iframe below main text General statement General statement QR code at end start QR code at end start
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