Anthropic IPO Faces Potential High Junk Credit Rating
AI-generated image · US National Wire · Based on a photo by Jeffrey Zeldman from Manhattan, USA (CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons)
Blackstone shifts expectations for the AI lab's creditworthiness following a $63 billion chip financing deal.
Anthropic is expected to receive a high "junk" credit rating from agencies following its initial public offering, as TechCrunch first reported, citing a report from the Financial Times.
Blackstone, which served as the anchor investor in a recent $63 billion deal to finance chips for Anthropic, informed investors that it now anticipates a rating in the double B range. This represents the top tier of speculative grade credit. The Financial Times notes that Blackstone previously predicted the maker of Claude would secure an investment-grade rating before 2027.
While the forecast remains a prediction, TechCrunch reports that a high junk rating would likely increase the cost and difficulty of raising capital. Such funding is critical for Anthropic to sustain the massive spending levels it has maintained over the last 12 months to secure compute power, a spending spree that TechCrunch notes has caused concern among investors.
Anthropic officially filed for its IPO earlier this week. Both Anthropic and Blackstone declined to comment on the matter when contacted by TechCrunch.