Anthropic, the company behind the Claude chatbot, has said artificial intelligence could help cure diseases such as cancer and drive economic growth worldwide. The American technology firm recently filed papers with the US Securities and Exchange Commission as it seeks to become publicly listed on the stock market.
Its planned initial public offering (IPO) is expected to be among the world's largest and most highly valued, although the company has not yet disclosed how many shares it intends to sell or the estimated price.
AI's potential benefits
In its filing, Anthropic described AI as 'one of the most consequential technologies in human history', with the potential to 'improve the quality of human life'. The document said this includes accelerating scientific innovation and 'potentially curing diseases that have plagued humanity for millennia, including cancer, Alzheimer's disease, heart disease, rare genetic diseases and the major infectious diseases'.
The company also said AI could serve as a 'powerful lever for economic growth' and boost productivity through automation for workers and businesses.
Risks and security concerns
However, the prospectus dedicates a significant section to risks associated with the technology. It acknowledges narratives around 'potential adverse societal impacts of AI, including that AI may displace or eliminate jobs, may be misused or otherwise cause harm, and may pose catastrophic or existential risks to humanity'.
Anthropic also highlighted the risk of cyberattacks, referencing an incident in September last year when it 'detected and assessed with high confidence that a Chinese state-sponsored hacking group manipulated our Claude Code tool into attempting infiltration into roughly 30 global targets', including government agencies, some of which were successful.
Financial performance
The filing also includes financial information, showing revenues growing rapidly but the company yet to turn a profit, like other tech firms preparing to go public. Anthropic reported a net loss of £60.5 billion in the first half of 2026, compared with a loss of £9.8 billion for the same period a year earlier.
Under its risk factors, Anthropic acknowledged it has 'a history of net losses' and 'may not achieve or sustain profitability in the future'.
Separately, Meta, owner of Facebook and Instagram, announced on Monday plans to raise around £71 billion through company stock offerings to fund further investment in AI.
