Anthropic is preparing for an initial public offering (IPO) with a balance sheet that sets it apart even among the world's largest technology corporations. As of June 30, the company's cash and short-term investments reached $131.7 billion — more than the equivalent figures for Nvidia and Apple combined.
In its S-1 registration document filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the company reported $112.4 billion in cash and cash equivalents and another $19.3 billion in short-term investments. Among non-bank U.S. companies, only Berkshire Hathaway and Alphabet hold a larger amount of funds.
Are reserves sufficient to cover liabilities
Alongside its impressive reserves, Anthropic disclosed substantial obligations. The combined total of lease agreements and minimum expenses is estimated at $587 billion. Of this, $321.4 billion relates to leases that have not yet begun, and $265.6 billion to mandatory minimum spending. Cash covers only about 22% of this amount. Contract terms extend up to 20 years, so payments will be spread out over time.
Contracts signed or amended after June 30 provide for additional minimum payments of approximately $245 billion. The company has not disclosed the final total of its obligations.
Anthropic typically orders most of its computing capacity 12–18 months before delivery. The Claude model runs on chips from Nvidia, Amazon, Google, and AMD. The agreements contain take-or-pay terms, obligating payment for the resource even if it is not used.
Financial results and offering structure
In the first half of the year, Anthropic's revenue was $16.3 billion. Its operating loss reached $693 million, while adjusted operating profit was positive at $1.6 billion.
If the offering amount exceeds $100 billion, the total funds raised could reach $230 billion. However, the shares are being sold by existing investors, so Anthropic will not receive the full amount and will direct its own IPO proceeds toward general purposes, including computing capacity. The company has applied for listing on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker ANT; details of the offering will become known in about two weeks.
The filing identifies cloud providers' development of their own artificial intelligence models as a risk factor. Anthropic's liabilities exceed its cash reserves by more than four times. Covering the difference through 2045 will require either revenue growth, new capital raising, or both at once.
Cryptalist analysis: The Anthropic case demonstrates a new model of capital intensity in the AI sector: gigantic reserves coexist with even larger long-term obligations for computing capacity, turning the balance sheet into a bet on future revenue growth. For the chip market and cloud providers, take-or-pay contracts create predictable demand but at the same time shift risk onto the issuer itself. When evaluating the IPO, investors should focus not on the size of the cash cushion but on the company's ability to generate revenue at a pace that outruns the schedule of lease payments.