Anthropic plans to spend $518 billion on AI infrastructure. Pre-IPO perps barely blink.

Anthropic's IPO prospectus reviewed by Reuters shows the AI developer intends to spend $518 billion on cloud computing and infrastructure over coming years, even as it reported a $42 billion net loss in 2025. Traders in pre-IPO perpetual futures tied to Anthropic's valuation barely moved, with prices implying about a $2 trillion valuation and only modest short-term weakness.

By AI Newsroom· Reviewed by Pranav, Founder & Editor-in-ChiefPublished 1 minute agoUpdated 1 minute ago0 views

Anthropic plans to spend $518 billion on AI infrastructure. Pre-IPO perps barely blink.

Why It Matters

The planned $518 billion infrastructure outlay and a potential market valuation around $2 trillion highlight the scale of capital deployment and market expectations for leading AI firms ahead of a likely public listing. How markets and customers absorb these costs — alongside Anthropic's concentrated revenue base and large losses — will shape investor appetite and industry dynamics.

Key Facts

Planned spending: $518 billion on cloud computing and infrastructure
Net loss (2025): $42 billion
Non-cash accounting charge: $34 billion (part of the 2025 loss)
Operating loss (excluding write-downs): More than $8 billion
Revenue (2025): Nearly $4.6 billion, up 12-fold

Anthropic told investors in a prospectus seen by Reuters that it plans to spend $518 billion on cloud services, computing capacity and related infrastructure as it positions itself for a likely public offering. The company frames the expenditure as a long-term bet on AI’s economic impact, comparing it to prior transformational technologies. The firm's 2025 financials show rapid revenue growth alongside substantial losses. Revenue rose roughly twelvefold to nearly $4.6 billion, yet Anthropic posted a $42 billion net loss for the year. About $34 billion of that loss was a non-cash accounting charge tied to financing arrangements that could convert into shares; excluding such write-downs, the company reported operating losses exceeding $8 billion. At the end of 2025 Anthropic held $20.28 billion in cash and short-term investments, and noted that nearly a quarter of revenue came from two customers and that many large clients are not on long-term contracts. Market reaction in cryptocurrency venues that offer pre-IPO perpetual futures was muted. Contracts that track Anthropic’s implied valuation traded around $1,998 on Tuesday across major exchanges, a decline of about 2% over 24 hours and roughly 10% below a Sept. 9 peak of $2,211, according to CoinMarketCap. Those prices imply a valuation near $2 trillion based on Binance pricing and are consistent with Reuters’ reported potential listing valuation above $2 trillion — more than double the $965 billion valuation reported in May. Trading in these synthetic derivatives is limited compared with major crypto perps. Coin Metrics lists twelve exchanges offering Anthropic pre-IPO perpetuals, with open interest above $100 million and Binance responsible for over 30% of activity. On Hyperliquid, the market run by Entropy showed $36 million in open interest. These contracts settle in cash, confer no equity rights, and are smaller and less liquid than perps tied to bitcoin, ether and other large cryptocurrencies where open interest often runs into the billions.