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THE MARKDOWN

By Zimbo · November 2, 2026

AI cartoon by Zimbo: Satirical cartoon: two top-hat investors mark down a robot's giant price tag from $2T to $1.5T, while one hides a $2T tag behind his back for the first-day pop — on investors pushing Anthropic's IPO valuation down from $2 trillion.
Investors told Anthropic its IPO should price at $1.5–1.6 trillion, not $2 trillion, after last week's tech rout — and some expect it to pop back to $2 trillion on day one.Zimbo for AI News Page

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Institutional investors told Anthropic and its advisers in the past several days that its planned initial public offering later this month should price at around $1.5 trillion to $1.6 trillion, according to people familiar with the matter cited by the Wall Street Journal — well below the figures closer to $2 trillion that had been bandied about in recent months.

The investors cited last week's rout in technology stocks and growing concerns about overexposure to AI bets. Anthropic has not finalized a valuation target, and some investors said they trust chief financial officer Krishna Rao to set a conservative price that gives IPO buyers a first-day pop — even a debut near $1.5 trillion could jump to $2 trillion by the end of the first trading day.

Anthropic plans to launch its roadshow pitch to investors as soon as next week, with a stock-market debut on track for the week before Thanksgiving. Its amended IPO filing on Monday reported third-quarter revenue of $17 billion, up from $11.6 billion in the prior quarter, and earlier reporting from Reuters and The Information had already put some investors near the $1.5 trillion figure after last month's investor day.

The investors have not lost faith in the $2 trillion price tag — they just want to buy it at $1.5 trillion first, then watch it pop back up like a beach ball they sat on.

READ THE FULL REPORT — Wall Street Journal ↗

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