OpenAI raises less. Anthropic’s IPO may have to wait

OpenAI has received about $11 billion at a $1.25 trillion valuation, Bloomberg reports, with the money arriving on November 6. The ChatGPT developer had originally sought at least $30 billion at a $1.4 trillion valuation. Investor anxiety over AI spending is now showing up in deal terms. That is an uncomfortable precedent for Anthropic as it prepares for a November IPO: its prospective buyers are demanding a discount and questioning whether the offering can stay on schedule.

The $11 billion is an initial tranche. OpenAI’s total raise could reach roughly $20 billion over the coming weeks, so the $19 billion gap against its original ambition is not a final shortfall. Even the revised goal, though, is $10 billion below the earlier target, while the valuation has come down by $150 billion, or nearly 11%. As we reported in October, OpenAI was racing to secure funding before Anthropic went public. The latest figures show the concessions it has made to get the deal done.

Public markets have become considerably less welcoming. In the November 5, 2026 session, the Nasdaq Composite fell 5.52% to 24,315, closing more than 10% below its October peak and entering correction territory. The S&P 500 lost 4.36%; the Dow dropped 3.44%, or about 1,833 points. The Philadelphia semiconductor index plunged roughly 12%. Reuters estimated that about $3 trillion was wiped off S&P 500 companies, including more than $1 trillion across the Magnificent Seven.

“The selloff evaporated $3 trillion in stock market value from S&P 500 companies.” — Reuters

Fears of tighter AI regulation and a slowdown in data-center construction accelerated the selloff after Democrats won control of Congress in the midterm elections. The shock runs through the entire investment chain, from model developers to chip suppliers and computing providers. Anthropic is trying to sell shares just as investors reassess the risks of the infrastructure race. A week earlier, the argument might have been about the premium for owning a piece of the AI revolution. Now buyers also want protection against politicians putting the brakes on it.

A delay is already under serious discussion. Reuters reported on November 5 that potential investors doubted Anthropic could launch its roadshow the following week and complete a November listing. The reported plan called for marketing during the week of November 9 and a debut during the week of November 16, with a possible raise of up to $100 billion. Neither the date nor the offering size had been officially announced, and no postponement has been confirmed. Those doubts predate the news of OpenAI’s funding: both companies are dealing with the same retreat in investor appetite.

Anthropic’s valuation discussions have taken another step down. October’s roughly $2 trillion ambition gave way to talk of $1.5 trillion. Now prospective buyers are discussing $1.2 trillion to $1.3 trillion, according to Moneycontrol’s account of Bloomberg’s reporting. Those are buyers’ preferences, not an agreed IPO price, but the direction is consistent. In our coverage of the public prospectus, even an existing Anthropic investor who thought the business could be worth $2 trillion wanted the IPO priced at $1.3 trillion to $1.5 trillion. Within weeks, the bottom of that preferred range has become the top of the latest valuation talk.

A lower valuation means less money raised unless more shares are sold. Holding the stake on offer constant, a hypothetical $100 billion sale at a $1.5 trillion valuation would bring in $80 billion at $1.2 trillion. Preserving the original proceeds would require selling a larger stake. Anthropic and its shareholders therefore face a choice: accept a lower price, shrink the offering, sell more of the company or wait. OpenAI’s smaller raise illustrates how difficult it has become to protect both the valuation and the size of a deal.

Waiting has a cost, too. October reporting described at least $518 billion in Anthropic infrastructure commitments, roughly 80% of which were noncancelable or payable regardless of usage. Subsequent disclosures pointed to still larger long-term computing commitments. A valuation can be renegotiated in days; computing contracts offer rather less flexibility. Postponing the IPO would spare Anthropic an immediate negotiation in a falling market, while leaving it responsible for financing the expansion it has already committed to.

A November listing remains possible, at a steeper discount and with a revised offering size. A postponement is now a live alternative. The doubts Reuters reported concern the launch of the roadshow itself, and any slippage there leaves little room in the calendar. The immediate test is whether a lower price can secure enough firm orders. If buyers keep pulling back, Anthropic will have to choose between a painful deal for shareholders and a delay. The AI buildout still needs cash up front. Investors are becoming much less willing to hand it over on the sellers’ terms.