Yesterday I wrote that Anthropic's filed IPO range landed at the skeptics' end of the valuation debate, well short of the $1.5 trillion…

Yesterday I wrote that Anthropic's filed IPO range landed at the skeptics' end of the valuation debate, well short of the $1.5 trillion the bulls wanted. One day later, that read is already under pressure.

The FT, citing five people familiar with the matter, reports that Anthropic's bankers are weighing pricing above the $70-78 range after strong first-day roadshow demand. According to the report, that could lift the valuation to $1.5 trillion or more and push total proceeds past $100 billion.

At the filed terms, the top of the range implies up to about $1.4 trillion and $64.4 billion from the IPO, or roughly $90.4 billion including the separate $26 billion private placement.

CNBC reported the order book was already covered at the filed range, with institutional demand running ahead of where SpaceX's book was at the same stage. To be clear, this is a possibility under discussion, not a decision.

What I find most interesting is the contrast with what investors were saying days ago. One told CNBC as recently as Tuesday that $1.5 trillion would be "a stretch." Last week, large institutions told the WSJ they wanted a valuation below roughly $1.5 trillion, and Bloomberg reported buyers discussing $1.2-1.3 trillion.

So either the buy side genuinely changed its mind in a day, or the "too expensive" talk was always part of the negotiation. Pricing is expected November 18, with trading on Nasdaq expected to start November 19 under the applied-for ticker ANT. That's when we'll find out which one it was.

Sources:
Reuters: https://www.reuters.com/business/anthropic-ipo-raise-much-644-billion-latest-draft-prospectus-shows-2026-11-10/
MLQ.ai (citing FT): https://mlq.ai/news/anthropics-bankers-weigh-pricing-its-ipo-above-the-70-to-78-range-lifting-its-valuation-to-15-trillion-or-more-ft-reports/
Quartz: https://qz.com/anthropic-ipo-roadshow-launch-64-billion-111026

Not financial advice. For informational and educational purposes only.