Anthropic Eyes October IPO as Trump Steps Up Strikes on Iran

Anthropic is scheduling meetings with investors and lining up banks as it explores an initial public offering that could take place as soon as October. Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are organizing outreach to gauge demand, and company executives plan roadshows in the coming weeks. Anthropic filed confidentially for a listing and has reported strong revenue growth from its Claude chatbot and coding-focused AI tools. A May funding round valued the company at $965 billion, surpassing OpenAI’s valuation at the time.

The company faces regulatory and legal challenges. The U.S. government briefly limited foreign access to two of Anthropic’s models, and the startup is in a legal dispute with the U.S. Department of Defense. Company officials have not confirmed a firm IPO date; banks will adjust timing based on market conditions and geopolitical developments.

U.S. military forces carried out airstrikes on Iranian targets near the Strait of Hormuz, including launch sites on Greater Tunb Island, in operations described by the Pentagon as intended to reduce Iran’s ability to attack commercial shipping. The strikes marked the fifth consecutive day of U.S. military action after a series of incidents involving Iranian-linked forces and commercial and military vessels.

President Donald Trump warned: “We’re going to hit them very hard tomorrow night. We’re going to hit them very hard the night after. And then next week it gets really bad for them because next week comes the power plants. We’re going to knock out all of their bridges unless they get to the table and negotiate.” Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps responded that the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed until U.S. strikes stopped and a U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports was lifted. U.S. accounts also cite Iranian attacks on U.S. military bases in Bahrain, Kuwait and other Gulf states.

The confrontations followed a short-lived interim peace agreement reached about a month earlier. The U.S. abandoned plans for a proposed 20% fee on cargo shipments through the strait but maintained a renewed naval blockade of Iranian ports.

Markets reflected the heightened geopolitical risk and fresh economic data. The U.S. Producer Price Index fell 0.3% in June, larger than economists expected, and spot gold steadied after earlier losses. Spot gold traded near $4,052.97 per ounce, while U.S. gold futures were slightly lower. The softer inflation reading reduced market expectations of an immediate Federal Reserve rate increase.

Oil prices rose amid concerns about supply disruptions. Brent crude traded around $85.75 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate near $80.34. The Energy Information Administration reported a 1.7 million-barrel draw in U.S. crude inventories last week, smaller than the 2.6 million-barrel decline analysts had expected. Goldman Sachs estimated Gulf oil exports had fallen below half of pre-conflict levels and warned Brent could exceed $110 per barrel in the fourth quarter if export routes remain disrupted.

Investors evaluating Anthropic’s potential IPO are weighing the company’s revenue growth and demand for its models against regulatory uncertainty and the broader market volatility tied to the Gulf conflict. If Anthropic proceeds with a public offering in October, it would reach the market ahead of some competitors that are targeting later listings.