Anthropic is preparing for one of the most high-profile public offerings in the history of the technology sector, and, as I have learned, in the prospectus the company intends to separately highlight a factor that many underestimate: the growth of public resistance to artificial intelligence and data center construction. This is not just a formality—it is a signal of systemic risk for the entire industry.
A confidential IPO filing was submitted back in June, and last week management held a series of closed meetings with bankers and major investors in San Francisco. During the road show, Chief Financial Officer Krishna Rao answered questions about competitive pressure from open models and how it would affect margins. However, the main block of discussions concerned operational vulnerability: the slowdown in computing capacity construction directly hits the company's ability to scale revenue.
Numbers that speak for themselves
Anthropic's growth rates are impressive: the annual run rate as of July exceeded $65 billion—roughly $25 billion more than OpenAI. The over-the-counter market already values the company at nearly $1 trillion, and investors I spoke with are factoring in a post-listing market capitalization of around $2 trillion. That would mean Anthropic would beat SpaceX's record for funds raised in an IPO.
But there is another side to the coin. Polls show that public opinion in the United States is radically shifting. According to Gallup data from March, 7 out of 10 Americans oppose placing AI data centers near their homes, with 48% strongly opposed. A more recent Heatmap Pro study, conducted August 8–13 among 2,045 registered voters, records a rise in opponents to 75%—a year ago, they were only 42%. This is not just statistics; it is an electoral trend.
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 issuing permits for new large facilities. If this wave reaches other states, construction costs and timelines will multiply.
Add to this Pew Research data: 71% of American adults expect job losses due to AI in the next 20 years—up from 64% in 2024. This creates a perfect storm for a public company whose business model depends on giant energy-intensive infrastructure projects.
My conclusion: Anthropic is technically strong, but its $2 trillion valuation will largely depend on the industry's ability to overcome social resistance. This is not a classic market risk but an existential one for the entire AI infrastructure. Investors should closely monitor regulatory initiatives in key states—they could become the main driver of volatility after listing.