The valuation would rank among the largest IPOs in history, though it falls well short of the $2 trillion figure investors floated over the summer—a number that would have surpassed SpaceX's $1.77 trillion market capitalization at its June IPO. Expectations had already been trimmed to $1.5 trillion last month, and by early November some investors were calling even that a stretch.

The downward revision followed a volatile stretch for tech stocks, driven by growing unease over AI spending and data center buildouts, a market drop after the midterm elections, and concerns about foreign espionage at the highest levels of the industry. Nvidia's stock fell after CEO Jensen Huang disclosed an affair with a woman suspected of spying for China.

Even at the lower figure, the IPO represents an extraordinary windfall for the Bay Area. When Anthropic last raised private capital in May, its valuation stood at $965 billion. The company could raise up to $90 billion through the IPO and a concurrent private stock sale, potentially exceeding SpaceX's $86 billion raise in June.

Some employees can begin selling a small portion of their holdings immediately, though most must wait roughly six months before fully cashing out. The lock-up period for executives and cofounders—many of whom hold more than $17 billion in shares each—runs from six months to a year. The executive team and directors together hold shares worth more than $118 billion.

Employees and venture capitalists are expected to plow their proceeds into the stock market, philanthropic causes, new startups, and real estate—a flood of wealth that could further strain the region's already red-hot housing market.

Anthropic also disclosed it has agreed to sell $26 billion in non-voting stock to a consortium that includes Nvidia, Google, Microsoft, TSMC, AMD, Broadcom, and Micron.

The company is going public primarily to fund its continued AI buildout, particularly the massive computing costs required to train and run its models. Its IPO is widely viewed as a litmus test for investor appetite for AI stocks, with OpenAI expected to follow next year.

For Bay Area residents, the offering crystallizes a question that has shadowed the AI boom: whether the enormous wealth generated by a handful of companies will translate into broad prosperity or deepen the region's affordability crisis. Local officials and housing advocates have warned that a new wave of tech millionaires could intensify pressure on an already constrained housing supply, while philanthropic organizations are bracing for a potential surge in donations.

Anthropic did not disclose when trading will formally commence beyond the reported Nov. 19 date.