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Anthropic pushes its mega IPO from October to November as the IPO window starts to close

Verified· Sep 30, 2026Published Sep 30, 2026

WSJ reports Anthropic pushed its mega IPO from October to November as OpenAI also delayed its plans, with venture liquidity stalling and Polymarket odds leaning toward a December IPO.

What happened

  • The Wall Street Journal's VC newsletter (September 30, 2026) reports Anthropic pushed its expected mega IPO from October to November. The piece notes rival OpenAI delayed its plans as well.
  • Smart-ring maker Oura also put its IPO on hold "despite strong demand, due to uncertainty in the IPO market."
  • Anthropic's Series H funding round in May 2026 valued the company at $965 billion (reported by CryptoBriefing).
  • Prediction markets lean toward a later date: Polymarket odds for an Anthropic IPO put December 31, 2026 at 77%, December 15 at 73%, and November 30 at 58%.

Why it matters

  • PitchBook's Emily Zheng notes venture contributions keep outpacing distributions, and U.S. venture cash flow was negative $62.7 billion at the end of last year — the biggest deficit on record.
  • WSJ says there isn't much time left this year to stage mega IPOs before elections and Thanksgiving, and the window could remain shut for the rest of the year on persistent inflation and rising interest rates.
  • The delay comes days after Anthropic's IPO prospectus raised "catastrophic or existential" AI risk warnings — the offering now slips even as the company's $518B infrastructure buildout commitments mount.

Sources

Sources