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Anthropic is preparing for a stock-market listing while facing enormous potential costs to build and run its AI business. Goldman Sachs analysts have privately forecast a cash burn of more than $65 billion next year and another $41 billion in 2028, according to The New York Times, citing two people familiar with the discussions.

What happened The forecasts would mark a sharp shift from Anthropic’s recent finances: its IPO prospectus says the company generated cash in the first nine months of this year. The Times reports that Anthropic has raised $141 billion privately and has barely spent it so far. Chief financial officer Krishna Rao described Anthropic as being in “aggressive investment mode” in a marketing video for the IPO, but did not discuss the specific spending forecasts. The listing, expected next Thursday, could value the company at $1.4 trillion. It would also give Anthropic an estimated $100 billion more to spend, while bringing future employee stock-grant expenses into view: the company anticipates about $40 billion in costs tied to existing grants.

Discuss: Would you back a huge AI spending bet on the promise of future returns, or demand clearer evidence before putting that much money behind it?

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