Jim Cramer said Monday that a real recovery in artificial intelligence (AI) stocks hinges on Anthropic’s initial public offering (IPO). But that evening, Reuters reported that Anthropic had retracted the share price range it sent to bankers.
Crypto traders felt the retraction first. Anthropic’s pre-IPO perpetual futures contract on Hyperliquid, a decentralized derivatives exchange, fell nearly 7%.
Why Cramer Puts Anthropic at the End of the AI Food Chain
Cramer’s argument rests on who ultimately pays for the AI buildout. Chipmakers and data center operators earn from that spending, but its payoff depends on a few AI developers earning enough revenue.
“Anthropic is important because it is one of just a few companies at the end of the food chain for all of the AI data center investments that we’ve seen..,” he said.
SpaceX shows how tightly the chain is linked. Anthropic’s monthly compute commitment to SpaceX has grown from $1.25 billion to over $3 billion, according to its IPO prospectus.
Those contracts help fund SpaceX’s Nvidia chip purchases. If an Anthropic deal fails, Cramer warned, the company may lack the cash to honor them. Estimates for SpaceX, Nvidia and other compute suppliers would then come down.
Meanwhile, Alphabet, Amazon and Nvidia face a second risk. All three hold Anthropic stakes, so a lower valuation would weigh on their earnings.
The $70 to $80 Range Anthropic Took Back
However, investor appetite for the IPO appears to have cooled. Anthropic’s potential valuation reportedly reached as much as $2 trillion earlier. Some are now reportedly discussing figures as low as $1 trillion.
The retracted filing offered the first look at a price range. According to emails seen by Reuters, it showed about 867 million shares at $70 to $80 each.
At those terms, the offering would raise roughly $60.7 billion to $69.3 billion. Anthropic then emailed bankers again, calling the pricing details inaccurate. It said an updated filing would follow.
Crypto traders, meanwhile, are setting a price of their own. Hyperliquid’s pre-IPO perpetual ANT contract traded at $98.31 on Tuesday morning.
That price sits about 23% above the top of the withdrawn range.
Anthropic’s updated filing will show which number holds. Trading could begin as early as November 19 or 20, according to The Wall Street Journal. That debut will also show whether public markets still back the AI spending Cramer described.
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