The news that Anthropic, the artificial intelligence powerhouse backed by Google, is preparing for a US listing should surprise no one. It is the latest in a long line of tech darlings choosing the liquidity and depth of American markets over London’s stagnant pond. For those of us who have watched the City’s decline with a mixture of resignation and frustration, this is merely confirmation of a trend that has been accelerating for years.
Anthropic’s decision to pursue a New York Stock Exchange or Nasdaq listing is rational. The company, valued at over $18 billion, needs access to deep pools of capital. The US market offers precisely that: a vibrant ecosystem of institutional investors, a culture that rewards growth over dividends, and a regulatory environment that, for all its faults, does not punish success. Compare that to London, where the FTSE 100 is dominated by miners, banks, and oil majors. Tech companies are an afterthought.
The government, in its infinite wisdom, has trotted out the usual platitudes. Lord Hill’s review. The Edinburgh reforms. Yet the problem is structural. British institutional investors are risk-averse, preferring the steady yield of a Shell or a Glaxo over the volatile promise of an Anthropic. Pension funds are too small and too cautious to back large tech IPOs. So the unicorns look elsewhere. Arm went to New York. CRH moved its primary listing across the Atlantic. And now Anthropic will join them.
The irony is that the UK has the raw materials. DeepMind, the AI pioneer, was born in London before Google snapped it up. Anthropic itself has a significant presence in London. But the ecosystem cannot retain these firms when they reach scale. The capital simply is not there. Gilt yields are rising, inflation remains sticky, and the pound is volatile. None of this inspires confidence in a founder deciding where to list.
Critics will argue that the US has its own issues: overzealous regulation, litigation risk, and the perennial threat of a government shutdown. But compared to the UK’s political instability and fiscal incontinence, those look like manageable headaches. The US market has depth. London has a few puddles.
We should not kid ourselves. This is a blow to the City’s ambition to be a global hub for technology finance. But it is not fatal. London will survive as a centre for insurance, commodities, and traditional banking. The tech train, however, has left the station. Until the government stops tinkering with tax credits and starts addressing the fundamental lack of domestic institutional demand for growth stocks, this exodus will continue.
For Anthropic, the decision is straightforward. A US listing will provide the capital to fuel its race against OpenAI and others. For the UK, it is yet another reminder that wishing for a tech revival is not enough. You need the markets to back it. And right now, they are voting with their feet.
