A once-busy pipeline of US technology listings for the rest of the year is down to just Anthropic.
The AI lab is pressing ahead with its initial public offering, planned for the middle of next month, after making its prospectus public as early as late October, people familiar with the matter said, cautioning that the plan and the dates could change. Anthropic is expected to begin marketing its shares to prospective investors in the week of 9 November, one of the people said.
That is later than first planned. In September, Anthropic was expected to begin marketing its IPO in mid-October and to list days before the US midterm elections in November.
The IPO will test whether Anthropic’s position at the centre of the booming AI business, which some investors believe could justify a valuation of as much as US$1.5-trillion, can overcome a market that might normally prompt bankers and lawyers to counsel delay.
Other companies in the AI infrastructure and data centre sectors have delayed their listings. A rise in interest rates has helped fuel a punishing sell-off in the shares and bonds of AI operators such as CoreWeave, and there are broader questions about the sustainability of AI spending.
The contrast underscores Anthropic’s appeal to investors, even as concerns about competition from open-source models and about AI safety weigh on the sector.
Many large investors remain bullish on Anthropic’s prospects despite the recent turbulence, seeing the company as one of the few ways to gain exposure to a technology that long-term investors cannot afford to ignore. Other issuers are reluctant to compete with Anthropic for institutional investors’ attention and capital, two of the people said.
Anthropic declined to comment.
Valuations under pressure
The AI sector’s pullback follows a string of IPO delays and withdrawals since September, as market volatility and rising interest rates have made it harder for companies to secure attractive valuations.
Data centre operator Switch and AI infrastructure provider Nscale have pushed their IPO plans back to later this year, people familiar with the matter said, stressing that the plans remain fluid. Nscale’s delay was partly driven by the need to address comments from staff at the US Securities and Exchange Commission, one other person said. SoftBank-backed SB Energy has also postponed its listing, Reuters previously reported.
Nscale declined to comment. Switch did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Blackstone-backed AirTrunk Reit, a real estate investment trust, and Nvidia-backed Firmus have pulled or paused their offerings, Reuters has reported.
Smart-ring maker Oura’s recent IPO has added to the caution. The offering attracted little participation from long-only investors, a person familiar with the matter said, raising concerns about the depth of demand from the institutional investors that typically provide a stable base of shareholders for newly listed companies.
The retreat from AI infrastructure listings reflects growing scrutiny of the enormous capital needed to build data centres, and of whether future demand will justify the investment. Recent developments involving CoreWeave have added to concerns about a slowdown in AI spending, although some market participants do not expect one.
Nscale publicly filed its IPO registration statement in September, while Switch filed confidentially, Reuters reported previously. A confidential filing allows a company to work with regulators on its registration statement before disclosing financial and business details to the public. Companies typically publish the filing ahead of their roadshows, when they begin marketing shares to prospective investors. — Echo Wang, (c) 2026 Reuters, with additional reporting (c) 2026 NewsCentral Media
