Anthropic, the company behind one of the most powerful AI models in the industry, is preparing for one of the largest IPOs in the history of the technology sector. However, ahead of the listing, the developer has decided to openly document in the offering prospectus a systemic risk that could undermine even the most ambitious plans: the growing negative public sentiment toward artificial intelligence and its associated infrastructure—data centers.
According to my information, the document will be made public within the coming weeks. The confidential filing was submitted back in June, after which management held a series of closed-door meetings with bankers and key investors in San Francisco. This is standard practice for mature issuers, but in this case, the level of anxiety in the room was particularly high.
Business model under pressure
In the risk factors section, Anthropic explicitly cites "growing public resistance" to new data center projects. Chief Financial Officer Krishna Rao, while answering investor questions, also touched on competitive pressure from open-source models, which are gradually squeezing margins. However, the main issue concerning the market is the dependence of revenue on access to computing power. Any delay in the construction of new data centers directly impacts the company's ability to scale.
The numbers here are telling. Anthropic's annualized revenue run rate exceeded $65 billion in July—roughly $25 billion more than OpenAI. On the over-the-counter market, the company is already valued at nearly $1 trillion, and investors expect a market capitalization of $2 trillion after the public listing. Such expectations make the infrastructure question critical: without new capacity, growth will simply stall.
Social divide
The company's concerns are backed by fresh data. According to a March Gallup survey, 7 out of 10 Americans oppose the placement of AI data centers near their homes, with 48% strongly opposed. A Heatmap Pro poll conducted by Embold Research in August among 2,045 registered voters showed even more alarming dynamics: 75% of respondents are now opposed. A year ago, that figure was only 42%.
This trend was bound to reach the political agenda. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro signed an executive order tightening requirements for data center construction, while New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced a moratorium on permits for new large-scale facilities. Meanwhile, Pew Research is recording growing job-related anxiety: 71% of American adults expect job cuts due to AI within the next 20 years—compared to just 64% in 2024.
My take: Anthropic is not merely protecting itself legally here—it is honestly signaling to the market that the main risk for the entire AI industry lies not in technology, but in social legitimacy. If protests against data centers escalate into federal-level regulatory restrictions, the $2 trillion valuation could prove unattainable. Investors should closely monitor not quarterly reports, but public opinion polls—they will determine the ceiling for market capitalization.