As it prepares for one of the most anticipated initial public offerings in the technology sector, Anthropic is including an unprecedented risk section in its prospectus. This is not about the typical financial or competitive threats found in such documents, but rather a fundamental shift in public sentiment. The company officially acknowledges that the rise of "public resistance" to new data center projects and general distrust of artificial intelligence could become a serious obstacle to its business model.
The confidential filing was submitted back in June, and Anthropic is now conducting roadshows for key investors and bankers in San Francisco. During these meetings, the company's Chief Financial Officer, Krishna Rao, is answering questions about competitive pressure from open-source models and how it affects margins. However, the main question on investors' minds is not competition but operational resilience: what happens if the construction of new computing capacity slows down?
The Numbers Speak for Themselves
Anthropic's financial metrics are impressive. As of July, the annualized revenue run rate exceeded $65 billion—roughly $25 billion more than OpenAI. On the over-the-counter market, the company is valued at nearly $1 trillion, and investors expect that after listing, its market capitalization could reach $2 trillion. Such ambitions mean Anthropic is aiming to beat SpaceX's record for funds raised in an IPO.
But it is precisely the scale of these expectations that makes the risks associated with public opinion particularly acute. After all, a $2 trillion market cap is not just a valuation of current revenue; it is a bet on decades of exponential growth that is impossible without building thousands of new data centers around the world.
Polls Capture a Tectonic Shift
Data from public opinion polls confirms that Anthropic's concerns are not unfounded. A Gallup study conducted in March showed that 7 out of 10 Americans oppose the placement of AI data centers near their homes, with 48% strongly opposed. A more recent Heatmap Pro survey, conducted by Embold Research in August among 2,045 registered voters, captures an even more alarming trend: 75% of respondents now oppose construction. A year ago, that figure was only 42%.
This trend is intensifying amid growing concerns about the labor market. Pew Research shows that 71% of American adults expect job losses due to AI in the next 20 years—up from 64% in 2024.
Politicians are already responding to these sentiments. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro has signed an executive order tightening requirements for data center construction, while New York Governor Kathy Hochul has announced a moratorium on permits for new large-scale facilities. These are just the first signs: if public resistance grows, Anthropic and its competitors will face delays in bringing capacity online, which will directly hit revenue.
My take: This is an extremely telling moment for the entire AI industry. Anthropic, being one of the most cautious and ethically oriented companies in the sector, is the first to openly admit that its main enemy is not competitors, but its own consumers and their neighbors. For the crypto industry, which has struggled with reputation and regulatory issues for decades, this is a familiar scenario. The lesson here is simple: technological hyper-valuation does not matter if society refuses to provide it with the physical space to exist. Investors betting on the AI bubble should closely watch how quickly these social risks turn into real financial losses.