Anthropic Prepares AI Solutions for Banks and Plans IPO
Anthropic continues testing AI agents for major banks and plans to go public this year, expanding technology adoption in the financial sector (according to the list of excluded topics)
Business headlines are buzzing with news of Anthropic's imminent IPO, the launch of a dozen AI agents for Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan, and even the unexpected lease of all computing capacity from SpaceX. However, behind the facade of these loud statements lies a much more complex and alarming reality. This is not a startup simply "going public" to raise capital. It is a company forcing a change in the entire operating model of global finance, putting hundreds of thousands of jobs at risk and creating "black boxes" of decision-making that no regulator can explain.
The Essence: What Is Really Happening
While the market discusses a $380 billion valuation and a potential listing in Q4 2026, the real game is about creating a "super-structure." Anthropic is methodically building a closed loop: they provide the largest banks with AI tools not just for chatbots, but for the full value creation cycle—from auditing financial statements to writing credit memos and pitchbooks.
The true nature of what is happening is a "compliance shell." The key document that most analysts overlook is the new "Claude's Constitution" of 2026. While the 2023 version simply set restrictive guardrails, the current revision embeds a hierarchy of values into the model, where "safety and ethics" take priority over mere compliance with instructions. In practice, this means the AI may refuse to perform a formally legal but "ethically questionable" client action, simply citing internal "caution." For banks, this creates enormous risk: they lose control over the predictability of operations.
Timeline and Context
Events are unfolding rapidly. In February 2026, Anthropic closed a $30 billion round at a $380 billion valuation. By April, information emerged about preparations for an IPO targeting Q4 2026, with SpaceX as one of the anchor clients, providing over 220,000 GPUs.
Simultaneously, on May 5, 2026, the company introduced 10 specialized financial agents. Importantly, at the New York presentation, CEO Dario Amodei shared the stage with Jamie Dimon (CEO of JPMorgan Chase). This signals not just a partnership, but deep integration at the highest level. Moreover, a $1.5 billion joint venture with Blackstone, Hellman & Friedman, and Goldman Sachs is reported, aiming to embed Claude into the operations of mid-sized companies. Thus, Anthropic is no longer just a vendor, but part of the infrastructural core of Wall Street.
Who Wins and Who Loses
Winners: First and foremost, the largest first-tier banks—JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Citi. They gain the ability to drastically cut operational costs on routine analytical tasks by replacing expensive analysts and associates with software agents. Anthropic itself also wins, capturing a critically important B2B segment. Their annual revenue has already exceeded $19 billion, 80% of which comes from enterprise clients.
Losers: There are significantly more losers. First, mid-level financial sector personnel. As Dario Amodei himself stated, some SaaS companies could simply go bankrupt when AI reduces the cost of creating software to nearly zero. Second, small banks and fintech startups that cannot afford $1 million per year for a Claude subscription. The technological gap between the "chosen" giants and the rest of the market will become catastrophic. Third, competitors, notably OpenAI, whose losses amid the computing race look frightening compared to Anthropic's more margin-friendly model.
What the Media Is Not Saying
The most dangerous aspect that does not make it into mainstream reports is the "Explainability Gap." According to an analysis of the updated "Claude's Constitution" of 2026, the model now explains its decisions by citing "safety concerns" or "harm prevention" rather than specific rules. For regulators, this is a nightmare. If the AI denies a client a loan or flags a suspicious transaction based on its internal "ethics" rather than the law, the bank cannot effectively appeal or even audit that decision. Compliance teams will find that their requirements for objective control cease to work.
The second non-obvious insight concerns the SpaceX deal. Placing computing in Musk's infrastructure a month before the IPO is not only a technical but also a political hedge. It gives Anthropic "armor" against potential regulatory attacks or chip supply chain issues, associating the company with an industrial giant critical to the U.S. government.
Forecast: Next 30 Days and 90 Days
Next 30 days (by June 7, 2026):
We will see the official launch of the S-1 and roadshow, which will become the main show of June. I expect that to attract public capital, Anthropic will present aggressive margin targets based on Claude Code. However, during this period, the first major scandals related to AI service denials due to the "Constitution" will emerge. Some major private banking client will raise a fuss when an AI agent "out of caution" refuses to execute their instruction for a large deal, forcing banks to urgently address the model's "values" settings.
Next 90 days (by August 7, 2026):
As the fall IPO approaches, competition for computing power will reach its peak. The SpaceX contract gives them an advantage, but if a failure occurs in Colossus 1 or client growth exceeds available GPUs, Claude's performance may temporarily degrade. Much more importantly, during this period, the SEC and European regulators may issue emergency clarifications on auditing AI with "embedded judgment." If regulators require that the AI's value hierarchy be disclosed as a risk factor in prospectuses, this could cool investor enthusiasm and adjust the requested valuation from $500 billion to more realistic levels. The financial world stands on the threshold of an era where decisions will be made by algorithms guided not by the letter of the law, but by their own interpretation of the spirit of "safety."
— Editorial Team
