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The Anthropic logo is displayed at the Moscone Center during the Dreamforce 2026 technology summit in San Francisco, California, on Sept. 17 (local time). / Reuters-Yonhap

U.S. artificial intelligence (AI) company Anthropic reduced its net loss by 65% quarter-on-quarter in the third quarter (July–September), but swung to an operating loss, according to an amended securities filing released ahead of its initial public offering (IPO).

Slowing revenue growth, massive AI infrastructure spending commitments totaling nearly $900 billion (approximately 1,200 trillion won), and risks related to external financing are also putting pressure on investors' assessments of the company's valuation.

According to Reuters on Nov. 2 (local time), Anthropic's third-quarter revenue in 2026 rose 47% from the previous quarter to $16.96 billion (approximately 22.8 trillion won), but its growth slowed sharply compared with the second quarter's 144% increase.

Its net loss narrowed by approximately 65% to $23.29 billion (approximately 31.26 trillion won) from $66.3 billion (approximately 89 trillion won) in the previous quarter. However, its operating results swung from a profit of $974 million (approximately 1.3 trillion won) in the second quarter to a loss of $567 million (approximately 760 billion won) in the third quarter.

The net loss included non-operating valuation gains and losses arising from changes in the fair value of financial instruments, including convertible notes. Therefore, the reduction in net losses does not necessarily indicate an improvement in actual operating profitability.

Anthropic attributed its operating loss primarily to $5 billion (approximately 6.7 trillion won) in costs associated with short-term computing commitments, which are more expensive than multiyear contracts, and $2 billion (approximately 2.7 trillion won) in noncash expenses related to its donation-matching program.

The market is also paying close attention to Anthropic's massive future spending obligations. The company disclosed purchase commitments and lease agreements totaling $895.4 billion (approximately 1,200 trillion won), of which $447.5 billion (approximately 601 trillion won) is scheduled to be spent by the end of 2030.

A surge in demand during the quarter led to $5 billion in spending on short-term computing capacity, while revenue generated per dollar of computing resources declined from the previous quarter. As a result, the adjusted operating margin fell from 19% in the second quarter to 15% in the third quarter.

Suppliers' reliance on external financing has also been identified as a risk factor. Anthropic warned that some AI infrastructure suppliers depend on external financing to purchase semiconductors and build data centers. If these companies encounter difficulties securing funding, Anthropic could face delays in receiving promised computing capacity, reduced access to that capacity or higher usage costs.

Reuters reported that investors were valuing Anthropic at around $1.5 trillion (approximately 2,013 trillion won), below the previous valuation of approximately $2 trillion (approximately 2,700 trillion won).

Meanwhile, Anthropic said it had more than 11,900 customers that generated at least $1 billion (approximately 1.3 trillion won) in revenue over the past 12 months.

The company is also considering measures to strengthen human oversight in certain research and development decision-making processes as its AI models take on a greater share of research and development work.

                                                                                                           Lee Jeong-eun