Anthropic is preparing for one of the most ambitious public offerings in the history of the technology sector, but in its investor documents, the company has been forced to record an unusual risk factor for itself—growing public distrust of artificial intelligence and the physical infrastructure that supports it.
This concerns the IPO prospectus, which, according to my information, will be made public in the coming weeks. The confidential filing was submitted back in June, after which management held a series of closed meetings with banks and major investors in San Francisco. In the risk factors section, the company directly points to growing "public resistance" to the construction of new data centers—a critical link for scaling computing capacity.
Competition and margin pressure
Chief Financial Officer Krishna Rao also fielded questions during the roadshow about competitive pressure from open-source models on the business, as well as risks related to slowing infrastructure construction. Investors are primarily concerned about the direct dependence of revenue on access to computing resources: any delays in bringing new data centers online directly hit growth rates.
The numbers show why this issue is so acute. As of July, Anthropic's 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. Some even predict the offering will break SpaceX's record for funds raised.
Numbers that cannot be ignored
My own observations of recent polls confirm that the problem is not contrived. A Gallup study 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 poll, conducted by Embold Research in August among 2,045 registered voters, found that the number of opponents has risen to 75%—a year earlier, it was only 42%.
Tensions are also rising around the labor market. Pew Research data indicates that 71% of American adults expect job losses due to AI over the next 20 years, compared to 64% in 2024. Politicians are already reacting: Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro signed an executive order tightening requirements for data center construction, and New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced a moratorium on permits for new large data centers.
My comment: The situation is paradoxical. Anthropic is showing impressive financial results, but a $2 trillion market capitalization will depend not only on balance sheets but also on the industry's ability to convince the public of the safety of its expansion. In the coming years, social licensing will become as important an asset as graphics processing units. Investors should closely watch how the company plans to manage this new class of risks.