Anthropic, maker of Claude, one of the most popular artificial intelligence models on the market, has officially started the IPO process by confidentially submitting a draft registration statement known as a Form S-1 with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company announced on Monday that this filing gives them the option to go public after the SEC completes its review, with the proposed initial public offering depending on market conditions and other factors. The filing comes a week after Anthropic announced its valuation had reached $965 billion after its latest round of fundraising, making it bigger than OpenAI, which in March said it was worth $852 billion after a recent funding round. As TS Lombard analysis suggests, the surge in IPOs leading up to the dot-com crash serves as a concerning pattern, with firms having raised a collective $28.8 billion this year, representing a 144% increase compared to the same period last year.
The number of companies opting for confidential IPO filings is rising dramatically as issuers seek greater flexibility around listing timelines and valuation discussions. Between June 2025 and May 2026, 39 companies filed draft red herring prospectuses through the confidential route, according to market participants. As Gaurav Sood, Managing Director and Head of Equity Capital Markets at Avendus Capital, explained, "Confidential filings are increasingly becoming the preferred option among issuers, particularly in a market environment where timing an IPO remains challenging." The confidential filing route allows companies to submit draft offer documents to SEBI without making them public, with regulatory review beginning immediately but issuers retaining control over when to disclose information and launch their offering.
The confidential filing mechanism offers significant advantages over traditional routes, particularly the 18-month validity period compared to the traditional one-year approval timeline. According to Richa Choudhary, Partner – Capital Markets at Trilegal, adoption has steadily increased since the framework was introduced, particularly among startups and new-age technology companies. The process allows companies to keep sensitive information such as business strategies, financial information and key performance indicators hidden from competitors until ready to proceed with the IPO. Companies can engage in limited discussions with Qualified Institutional Buyers before receiving SEBI's observations, helping management teams gauge investor appetite and valuation expectations.
Companies planning public offerings are largely choosing to wait for better market conditions rather than resize offerings, as valuation expectations continue to weigh on launch decisions amid volatile markets. Sahil Bora, Partner at JSR Capital Advisors, explained that a significant number of promoter groups, private equity investors and pre-IPO shareholders continue to anchor their expectations to the strong market conditions seen between 2021 and early 2025, when liquidity was abundant, public market multiples were elevated and IPO markets remained supportive. The current IPO boom is sending a warning to investors that the AI-fueled stock boom might soon be over, with analysts at Wedbush Securities noting this represents an opening of the floodgates for the IPO market after years of dormancy.
Many issuers are choosing to reassess launch plans rather than compromise on valuations unless market conditions leave them with limited alternatives. Prakash Bulusu, Joint CEO of IIFL Capital, noted that companies increasingly view confidential filing as a strategic option within the IPO process rather than a replacement for the traditional route. The framework enables companies to conduct limited investor outreach before publicly announcing their IPO plans, helping management teams prepare more comprehensively before making a public announcement. However, the key trade-off is that the process can be more expensive and time-consuming, with extended timeline and additional documentation requirements resulting in higher legal, compliance, audit and advisory costs.
