Anthropic is preparing for a public market debut that could value the AI company at more than USD 2 trillion. This puts its rapid growth, heavy infrastructure spending and Gulf-backed funding base under closer investor scrutiny.

Its rapid commercial growth brings equally rapid increases in the cost of building and operating frontier AI systems. The listing would also put the spotlight on Gulf capital, with MGX and Qatar Investment Authority among the investors that have backed Anthropic through its private-market expansion.

Why You Should Care

Anthropic’s potential IPO would give public market investors direct exposure to one of the companies driving the current AI buildout. It would also provide a new reference point for how investors value AI companies whose revenues are growing rapidly. But on the other hand, their expansion requires enormous spending on computing capacity and infrastructure.

For Gulf investors, the listing would put a spotlight on stakes built up during Anthropic’s private funding rounds. Abu Dhabi’s MGX and Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) have both increased their exposure to the company as its private valuation climbed.

Anthropic’s IPO matters to the Gulf because some of the region’s largest investors are already financially exposed to the company. MGX and Qatar Investment Authority have participated in multiple funding rounds, including as Anthropic’s private valuation climbed toward USD 1 trillion. A public listing would give markets a new reference point for valuing those investments and, more broadly, the Gulf’s growing exposure to frontier AI.

The Details

Anthropic’s growth has come with a sharp increase in the cost of operating its AI systems. The company spent USD 7.33 billion on compute and infrastructure in 2025, nearly three times its spending a year earlier. That represented more than half of its USD 12.65 billion in total operating expenses, according to Reuters. 

The AI giant reported nearly USD 4.6 billion in revenue in 2025, up roughly 12 times from the previous year. At the same time, its operating loss widened to USD 8.06 billion from USD 2.98 billion in 2024. Anthropic also reported a net loss of about USD 42 billion. Although Reuters notes that roughly USD 34 billion of that figure came from an accounting charge linked to the changing value of financing instruments that could convert into shares. 

The spending requirements are expected to remain substantial. Anthropic’s prospectus outlines USD 518 billion in planned cloud, computing and infrastructure obligations over the coming years. A separate Reuters report on the filing found that around 80% of those commitments are either non-cancelable or require payment regardless of actual usage. 

That scale reflects the economics of competing at the frontier of AI. Anthropic is competing with OpenAI, Google’s AI operations, Meta and xAI while relying heavily on access to advanced computing infrastructure. Amazon and Google have also provided both capital and cloud infrastructure to Anthropic, creating relationships that combine investment with access to the computing capacity needed to train and deploy its models. 

The company’s private valuation has risen rapidly. Its May 2026 financing valued Anthropic at USD 965 billion, according to QIA, which participated in the USD 65 billion Series H round. This was its third consecutive Anthropic funding round after its initial investment in September 2025 and participation in the company’s Series G financing in February.

MGX has followed a similar path. The Abu Dhabi investment firm co-led Anthropic’s USD 30 billion Series G round in February at a USD 380 billion post-money valuation. It also subsequently participated in the USD 65 billion Series H financing at the USD 965 billion valuation. 

The Gulf presence therefore extends beyond a single funding round. Both investors have continued to participate as Anthropic’s valuation and capital requirements have expanded. Thus, placing Middle Eastern sovereign and state-backed capital within the funding base of one of the world’s most closely watched AI companies.

The potential IPO would mark another transition. Until now, Anthropic’s expansion has largely been financed through private capital from technology companies, venture investors and sovereign wealth funds. A public listing would shift part of that financing story to public shareholders.

The Ripple

The implications extend beyond Anthropic itself. A valuation above USD 2 trillion would place the company among the largest technology businesses in global public markets.

The timing also matters for Gulf capital. MGX has built a portfolio spanning frontier AI companies and the infrastructure needed to support them. Meanwhile, QIA has continued increasing its exposure to Anthropic across multiple financing rounds. MGX’s broader strategy includes investments across the AI technology stack. It also has participated in large infrastructure transactions such as the approximately USD 40 billion acquisition of Aligned Data Centers.

That combination illustrates the different layers of the AI investment cycle. Capital is flowing not only into model developers such as Anthropic, but also into the computing, data center and energy infrastructure required to scale them.

At the same time, Anthropic’s prospectus highlights risks that public investors will have to assess alongside its growth. Nearly a quarter of its 2025 revenue came from two customers, while the company warned that some major customers are not committed to long-term contracts. Its own research has also identified risks involving increasingly autonomous AI systems, including unexpected behavior in controlled tests. 

What to Watch

The key question for the IPO will be how public investors balance Anthropic’s revenue growth against the capital required to sustain it.

The company’s prospectus points to an unusually large infrastructure bill at the same time that its revenue is scaling rapidly. Its potential valuation will therefore become a test of how markets price the next phase of AI development. This is particularly as companies compete for computing capacity and attempt to turn rising model demand into durable profits. 

For Gulf investors, the listing will also provide a clearer public market reference for investments made when Anthropic was still private. QIA and MGX have already participated through successive funding rounds. If Anthropic reaches the public markets at the valuation now being discussed, those private investments will enter a different phase. Thus, their value will be increasingly measured against public market pricing rather than private fundraising rounds.