DOMINANT ANGLE
Seoul is gauging Anthropic's stock market debut in terms of the potential gain for its groups, led by SK Telecom, which invested early, as well as the announced record.
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
KEY POINTS
- 01
Anthropic's net loss for the first half of 2026 is $80.7 billion, compared to $13 billion a year earlier (Korea Times).
- 02
SK Telecom, which invested $100 million in August 2023, would see its stake valued at around 7.26 billion won at a $2 trillion valuation (Korea Herald).
- 03
Anthropic is aiming to raise up to $100 billion, with a Nasdaq listing under the symbol ANT as early as November.
ANALYSIS
Seoul, October 27, 2026. The English-language South Korean press is covering Anthropic's filing from two angles: the stock market record and what it means for Korean groups that invested early. According to the Korea Times, the company filed its application on Monday in San Francisco for a listing next month, which could raise up to $100 billion. It would be listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol "ANT".
The daily newspaper notes a paradox: the introduction comes a few weeks after CEO Dario Amodei called for slowing down the development of advanced AI. The prospectus mentions "catastrophic or existential" risks for humanity, as well as the retention of executives, regulatory obstacles, and access to sufficient computing power.
In terms of figures, the net loss for the first half of 2026 amounts to $80.7 billion, compared to $13 billion a year earlier. Private investors valued Anthropic at $965 billion earlier in the year; the media is talking about $1,500 billion or $2,000 billion at the time of the listing, without a definitive valuation. The seven founders hold nearly 500 million shares, but the filing does not specify their stake after the listing. The two newspapers compare the operation to that of SpaceX in June, with different amounts: $86 billion for the Korea Times, $75 billion for the Korea Herald.
The Korea Herald, for its part, puts national companies in the spotlight. It writes that the listing could "significantly increase the value of investments" of Korean companies, with SK Telecom at the forefront, along with Naver and LG CNS also cited as potential beneficiaries. SK Telecom invested $100 million in August 2023, when the startup was worth $5 billion, and then around $100 million more in the first half of the year. Its stake was valued at 3,510 billion won at the end of June, compared to 1,380 billion won at the end of 2025; at a valuation of $2,000 billion, it would be worth around 7.26 billion won.
The newspaper adds that the partnership could open up other opportunities, as the two groups have already collaborated on a large language model for telecommunications. It specifies that Anthropic would be the first major developer of cutting-edge AI models to go public, ahead of OpenAI. The filing does not mention the number of shares offered or the price range.
