Anthropic's planned IPO draws investor skepticism over China risk

Anthropic is reportedly preparing an IPO for September or October that could be the largest ever, according to the Wall Street Journal. In investor meetings, the company, valued at $965 billion, is facing tough questions about competition from Chinese AI labs, tensions with the Trump administration, and local protests against its data center construction.

Why it matters: An IPO of this size would set the valuation benchmark for the entire AI industry, so investor pushback on China competition and political risk is worth watching beyond Anthropic itself. It also lands right after a flurry of data center financing deals (the Riot lease, the new GIC/Macquarie venture), suggesting Anthropic is racing to lock in compute commitments before defending its valuation publicly.