Ahead of one of the most anticipated listings in the technology sector, Anthropic is preparing documents for its initial public offering (IPO), and they will specifically highlight a factor that typically does not dominate issuer prospectuses—namely, the growth of public distrust in artificial intelligence and the infrastructure required to run it. This is not merely a formality, but a signal that even industry leaders are beginning to treat social sentiment as a material business risk.
Risks That Cannot Be Ignored
According to my analysis, in the risk factors section, Anthropic intends to reflect the intensifying "public resistance" to the construction of new data centers. This is a logical step: companies are obligated to warn investors about potential threats, but here we see something more. Delays in building computing infrastructure directly undermine the ability to scale AI models, and therefore revenue. Chief Financial Officer Krishna Rao has already held a series of meetings with bankers and investors in San Francisco, where not only competitive pressure from open-source models was discussed, but also margin risks associated with operating costs.
It is telling that access to computing power is becoming a fundamental issue. Anthropic's annualized revenue run rate exceeded $65 billion in July—roughly $25 billion more than OpenAI. The over-the-counter market already values the company at nearly $1 trillion, and investors expect that after going public, its market capitalization could reach $2 trillion. Such figures make Anthropic's IPO a potential record-breaker, capable of surpassing even SpaceX's listing.
Numbers That Change the Picture
My data confirms that the concerns are not unfounded. A Gallup poll conducted in March showed that 7 out of 10 Americans oppose placing AI data centers near their homes, with 48% strongly opposed. A more recent Heatmap Pro study (August, sample of 2,045 registered voters) records an increase in opponents to 75%—a year earlier, only 42% held that view. This is explosive growth in social tension.
An additional factor is the fear for jobs. Pew Research found that 71% of American adults expect job losses due to AI over the next 20 years; in 2024, that figure was 64%. Politicians are already responding: Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro signed an executive order tightening requirements for data center construction, and New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced a moratorium on issuing permits for new large-scale facilities.
My verdict: Anthropic is demonstrating maturity by acknowledging these risks before they become critical. However, for investors, this is a dual signal: on one hand, transparency reduces uncertainty; on the other, it underscores that even with $65 billion in revenue, the company is vulnerable to the will of voters and local authorities. In the long term, it is the social license—not just technological superiority—that will determine who wins the AI race.