Anthropic is pushing forward with its plans to go public, even as the broader market conditions look less than ideal. The timing comes on the heels of one of Nasdaq's largest selloffs, and amid revelations that a CEO at the center of the AI boom had an affair with a woman suspected of being a Chinese spy. Despite these headwinds, the company is proceeding with its listing, according to reports.

The company intends to establish a valuation range this week and aims to start trading on Thursday or Friday of next week. Investors will be watching Anthropic's valuation closely as a barometer for the strength of the AI boom. According to the report, some institutional investors are now advocating for a valuation below the $1.5 trillion target that was discussed as recently as last week — a figure that was already significantly lower than the $2 trillion that had been floated a few months earlier.

Anthropic's main competitor, OpenAI, was reportedly valued at $1.25 trillion last week after the ChatGPT maker raised $11 billion in fresh capital — short of the $20 billion it had initially sought.