Cash reserves far exceed those of almost every U.S. company! Anthropic (ANT.US) holds US$131.7 billion as it sprints toward an IPO, with cash potentially exceeding US$230 billion after fundraising

Latest filings show that Anthropic's (ANT.US) cash reserves have surpassed those of nearly every U.S. company. The nearly six-year-old artificial intelligence (AI) lab disclosed in an S-1 filing submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday that as of June 30, it held US$112.4 billion in cash, plus US$19.3 billion in short-term investments. According to compiled data, Anthropic's combined US$131.7 billion in cash and short-term investments ranks second only to Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A.US) and Alphabet (GOOGL.US) among U.S. non-bank companies. As of mid-year, Anthropic's cash holdings exceeded those of Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN.US), SpaceX (SPCX.US), Meta (META.US) and Microsoft Corporation (MSFT.US), and even exceeded the combined total of NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA.US) and Apple Inc. (AAPL.US). Market reports say Anthropic's IPO could raise more than US$100 billion. If completed successfully, Anthropic's cash reserves could climb further to more than US$230 billion. To date, Anthropic has not disclosed specific details of its offering size, and said in the filing that existing investors will also sell shares in the IPOmeaning the company itself will not receive all of the proceeds. Relevant details are expected to be disclosed in about two weeks. It is understood that no company has ever held such a massive amount of cash at the time of listing. Anthropic's huge cash reserves highlight its strong fundraising capability, enabling it to accumulate US$141 billion in private financing in just six years since its founding. However, given that the company's future computing commitments have not yet been included in its spending, Anthropic will have to continue building cash through financing or generating profits to meet its obligations. Anthropic's computing power and infrastructure spending totaled US$8.95 billion in the first half. But the company said it typically purchases computing power 12 to 18 months in advance and only recognizes expenses when the relevant capacity is formally delivered. That means the first-half spending figure does not reflect the full scale of its future obligations. As of June 30, Anthropic disclosed estimated future undiscounted lease obligations of US$321.4 billion and expected future fixed payments or minimum guaranteed commitments of US$265.6 billiontotaling more than US$500 billion. These obligations will begin to come due over the next several years, with terms ranging from one to 20 years. In addition, the company said that after June 30, it entered into new and amended agreements with minimum future payment obligations of approximately US$245 billion. The company has not yet updated the latest figure for total commitments. If cash is Anthropic's "throne capital," then computing power is the heaviest shackle on its throne.