Anthropic’s $1.4 trillion stock market debut could give Nscale’s troubled $35bn listing plans a “modest lift”, according to analysts, although the British AI firm may still be forced to postpone its flotation until next year.

The Nvidia-backed data centre developer is reportedly considering delaying its New York listing until 2027 after a sharp sell-off in AI stocks rattled investors and raised fresh questions over the sector’s vast spending plans.

Anthropic, meanwhile, has set a price range of $70 to $78 per share ahead of its 19 November debut, with its offering reportedly fully subscribed.

“Nscale’s IPO prospects will get a modest lift after Anthropic set a $70-$78 range and Nov. 19 trading date, with the deal reportedly fully covered and a $26 billion private placement from Google, Nvidia and other strategic backers.”

However, he told that Anthropic’s debut was unlikely to resolve the wider problems facing the British company.

“It is a modest positive, not a reset” he said. “Nscale still faces a much tougher financing story given neocloud leverage concerns, Microsoft’s decision not to expand some capacity and its own project-execution risks.”

Nscale, which filed to list in September, had been targeting a valuation of up to $35bn, more than double the $14.6bn it secured in a funding round earlier this year.

But its plans have been complicated by a wider downturn in AI infrastructure stocks, with rival CoreWeave losing more than a third of its value over the past month.

Microsoft setbacks cloud Nscale’s plans

Nscale has also suffered setbacks with Microsoft, which withdrew from plans to become the main customer at its flagship Essex data centre following delays securing electricity supplies.

Microsoft had declined an option to significantly expand its computing capacity at Nscale’s Texas site, although its existing contracts remain unaffected.

The company’s fortunes are closely tied to Anthropic, having secured a contract worth up to $44.6bn to supply the AI developer with computing power.

Kasibhotla told that Nscale’s reported delay made Anthropic’s performance after listing even more important.

“A strong Anthropic debut could improve the backdrop, but it may arrive too late to eliminate Nscale’s broader execution, funding and valuation concerns.”

He added that a postponement now looked “materially more plausible” unless Anthropic’s first days of trading quickly restored investor confidence.

Meanwhile, Mandeep Singh, senior technology analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, said Anthropic could justify its $1.4 trillion valuation if annual recurring revenue reached $150bn by 2027, up from $81bn in October.

However, he warned that cheaper rival AI models had already knocked an estimated $2.4bn off Anthropic’s annual recurring revenue in the third quarter.

Nscale has not announced a decision on delaying its listing, and has not responded for comment.