Anthropic is assembling a powerful team of legal advisers as it prepares for a potentially record-setting stock market debut, with its latest regulatory filing revealing that an investment partnership linked to one of its law firms holds a small stake in the artificial intelligence company.
The disclosure highlights the close ties between Silicon Valley’s technology businesses and the legal firms that help guide them through major corporate transactions. It also comes as Anthropic prepares to enter public markets while confronting growing uncertainty over the legal responsibilities of AI developers.
According to the company’s filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, investment partnerships affiliated with Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, which is advising Anthropic on its initial public offering (IPO), directly or indirectly own less than 0.01% of the company’s outstanding shares.
Wilson Sonsini, a prominent law firm with longstanding connections to the technology industry, is among several legal advisers involved in the planned offering. The firm did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Anthropic has attracted enormous investor interest, although expectations surrounding its potential valuation have shifted. Some investors have recently placed its value at approximately $1.5 trillion, below estimates of around $2 trillion discussed a week earlier.
A network of advisers behind the public offering
Wilson Sonsini is not the first law firm to hold equity in a technology client. Fenwick & West, another firm known for representing emerging technology companies, owned nearly 900,000 shares of design software company Figma when it went public in 2025. Those holdings were worth roughly $29 million at the offering price.
Anthropic’s filing identifies Freshfields US as legal counsel to the underwriters overseeing the IPO. Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are leading the underwriting group, which includes 20 additional financial institutions.
Other firms and advisers have been assigned specialised responsibilities. Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe has advised Anthropic on executive compensation and equity matters, as well as other transactions, including the company’s acquisition of technology business Stainless earlier this year.
Cleary Gottlieb and Yale law professor John Morley have advised Anthropic’s Long-Term Benefit Trust, while Cravath, Swaine & Moore is working with the company’s co-founders on selected corporate governance issues.
The range of advisers reflects the legal and organisational complexity surrounding a major public listing by a company operating in one of the technology sector’s fastest-growing fields.
AI liability remains a major concern
Beyond the financial and corporate arrangements, Anthropic’s filing draws attention to the legal challenges that could shape its future.
The company warned prospective investors that its AI models and services could expose it to claims involving product liability, consumer protection, negligence and failure to warn users about potential risks.
Such claims could arise from allegedly harmful AI-generated responses, the actions of autonomous AI agents or the ways customers use Anthropic’s technology.
A central uncertainty concerns how courts and regulators will classify artificial intelligence systems. Whether these technologies should be treated legally as products or services remains unsettled, leaving questions about responsibility for harm without clear answers.
That ambiguity could have significant consequences for AI companies as their systems become more capable and are deployed across a wider range of activities.
FTC inquiry adds another layer of scrutiny
Anthropic also disclosed that it received a civil investigative demand from the US Federal Trade Commission this month. The agency is seeking information concerning consumer protection, privacy, data protection and product safety and security.
The disclosure adds to the regulatory issues facing the company as it prepares for a potential public-market debut.
For prospective shareholders, the challenge will extend beyond assessing Anthropic’s technology, growth prospects and financial performance. Its ability to navigate evolving regulations, defend against potential litigation and address concerns about AI-related harm could also become important factors in how investors evaluate the business.
As Anthropic moves closer to the public markets, its legal advisers will play a critical role in managing both the demands of the IPO and the uncertain legal landscape surrounding artificial intelligence.
