What happened
Anthropic initiated preparations for a potential IPO as early as 2026, engaging Wilson Sonsini for legal counsel and commencing discussions with investment banks. This process involves tightening financial controls and drafting risk disclosures specifically tailored to AI operations. Concurrently, Anthropic acquired Bun, a JavaScript tooling company, with plans to integrate it into Claude Code, which currently maintains a $1 billion annualised run rate. The company targets revenues of $26 billion in 2026 and $70 billion by 2028, operating as a Public Benefit Corporation with a Long-Term Benefit Trust holding board-election rights.
Why it matters
Initiating IPO readiness introduces new financial and regulatory oversight, increasing the burden on finance and compliance teams to meet public market standards. The requirement to draft AI-tailored risk disclosures creates a new accountability gap for product and legal teams, demanding explicit articulation and management of AI-specific operational risks. Furthermore, the Public Benefit Corporation structure and Long-Term Benefit Trust introduce a governance constraint, potentially affecting strategic autonomy and increasing oversight burden for executive leadership regarding long-term safety and reliability objectives.
