Other IPOs are on ice as investors await Anthropics mega public debut

Wall Street’s market for new stocks has suddenly stalled, but big investors aren’t out of cash, experts say — they are simply hoarding their funds for a historic mega-deal while refusing to overpay for the rest of the pack.Anthropic, the San Francisco-based AI developer behind the Claude chatbot, is targeting a valuation near $2 trillion for an initial public offering that could fetch up to $100 billion in the coming weeks.The deal could easily surpass SpaceX’s record $86.2 billion debut in June, cementing 2026 as the biggest year for newly raised capital in history.“Anthropic is the lead story of the Q4 IPO market.Forget everything else,” said Matt Kennedy, senior strategist at pre-IPO research firm Renaissance Capital.“Like SpaceX, Anthropic could raise more than every IPO from both 2025 and 2024 combined, easily,” he told The Post.The massive deal looms large over a jittery market.

Several prominent offerings hit the brakes in recent weeks.Smart-ring maker Oura recently postponed its Nasdaq listing hours before it was set to price at a $15.6 billion target valuation.The company cited market uncertainty.

While demand was four times higher than the shares available, potential investors balked at the price tag and Oura’s reliance on a single product.Other firms have retreated, as well.Holtec Nuclear, a nuclear services provider looking to cash in on the data center boom, suspended its planned $825 million IPO on Sept.

17.SoftBank also delayed the listing of data-center firm SB Energy after investors challenged a valuation topping $50 billion.While some bankers argue Anthropic is sucking all the oxygen out of the room, market watchers say the pause stems from an old-fashioned fight over price and a shaky global backdrop.“I don’t see Anthropic as being this black hole that prevents other companies from going public,” Renaissance Capital’s Kennedy said.

“I think I would point to just the tougher market conditions that we’re seeing now....