When Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) announced its Anthropic partnership in late July, two commitments stood out. Anthropic agreed to deploy up to 2 gigawatts of AMD Instinct MI450 series GPUs, with the first gigawatt set to begin deployment in the first half of 2027. AMD committed to invest up to $5 billion in Anthropic, with the investment structured as a future strategic equity investment subject to contingencies, expected to be completed by fiscal year 2028.
The second commitment is about to become more measurable: Anthropic plans to publish its initial public offering (IPO) prospectus after Labor Day, with a potential listing as early as late September or early October. Reports indicate Anthropic is valued at nearly $1 trillion in private markets and could float at around $2 trillion, with annualized revenue exceeding $65 billion by July.
AMD’s investment is separate from its GPU deployment commitments. While AMD holds no stake in Anthropic currently, the company’s financial backing could influence its deployment plans. Anthropic’s revenue growth and IPO potential are significant, as its IPO could surpass SpaceX’s $86 billion June IPO, the largest on record.
AMD’s data center segment revenue more than doubled year-over-year to $6.7 billion in Q2, representing 58% of total revenue. Management guided third-quarter revenue to about $13 billion, marking a deceleration from previous growth rates. AMD’s shares trade near $474, reflecting a 19% drop from their 52-week high, with expectations of earnings around 30 times next year’s forecast.
The strongest reason the IPO matters to AMD is the potential for public financing of Anthropic’s deployments. A successful IPO could provide public capital to fund part of the $2 GW GPU commitment, reducing reliance on supplier financing. Meanwhile, AMD’s $5 billion investment remains conditional and small relative to Anthropic’s valuation, while the GPU deployments are expected to generate revenue starting in 2027.
Source: The Motley Fool
