New York Angels board member Bob Peck says an Anthropic IPO could help support technology stocks after a recent AI-related sell-off. Investors are watching not only the AI company’s potential listing, but also whether its valuation could become a benchmark for major technology companies and cloud providers.
Alphabet’s drop sharpens scrutiny of AI monetization
Speaking on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street,” Peck said sentiment toward technology stocks is more cautious than it was six months ago. He linked Alphabet’s share-price decline to questions about the monetization of its AI business, attributed pressure on Intel to weaker PC demand, and pointed to margin challenges at Apple.
On October 29, Alphabet shares fell more than 12%—their biggest one-day decline on record—wiping about $500 billion from its market value. The sell-off put renewed focus on whether AI investment can translate into revenue and whether current valuations are sustainable. Anthropic’s potential IPO is therefore emerging as a pricing event that could influence how investors judge the sector.
Investors reportedly favor the lower end of the range
Large investors are said to want Anthropic valued toward the lower end of a $1.5 trillion to $2 trillion range, rather than close to $2 trillion. Peck said the eventual IPO price could provide a yardstick for large cloud providers, whose market capitalizations are roughly $2 trillion to $4 trillion. A higher valuation could prompt comparisons between AI companies and established technology giants on growth and revenue foundations; a lower price could reflect greater caution about high-growth expectations.
Anthropic’s S-1 registration filing shows net revenue retention of about 900%, meaning existing customers are spending roughly nine times as much as they did the previous year. By comparison, enterprise software companies Palantir and Snowflake reported net revenue retention rates of 157% and 126%, respectively. The metric captures revenue growth from existing customers expanding their purchases, but does not determine a company’s valuation on its own.
Harrison Rolfes, a senior analyst at PitchBook, cautioned that Anthropic’s retention rate could fall quickly because it started from a low base. In assessing the IPO price, investors will also need to consider whether that growth can persist and whether customer spending will continue to rise at the same pace as revenue scales.
IPOs with sales multiples above 40 are rare
Of 4,110 IPOs in the historical sample, only 14 priced at more than 40 times sales. The data highlights the high bar Anthropic would face if it sought a similarly elevated sales multiple. For technology investors, the company’s IPO valuation and revenue-retention performance will offer complementary signals about AI commercialization and risk appetite. The valuation preference described by investors is not a final offering price.