If you’re looking for a sign that “techlash” is making artificial intelligence companies increasingly nervous, look no further than what they and their lawyers are telling regulators and institutional investors.
With AI giants like Anthropic and OpenAI prepping initial public offerings, the possibility that citizens and government officials could torpedo data centers and put the brakes on technology development is starting to show up as a formal risk factor that must be legally disclosed. Consider: CNBC recently reported that Anthropic, which operates the Claude AI platform, has been privately telling bankers and investors that opposition to and worries about AI and data centers are “expected to be a key risk factor” outlined in the prospectus it will file ahead of its IPO.
Anthropic isn’t alone, although it may be going farther than other AI-centric companies that have recently filed to go public. SpaceX, which includes Grok-maker X.AI, said in its pre-IPO filings that certain AI features could provoke “user or advertiser backlash,” as well as “regulatory scrutiny, enforcement actions, litigation, or claims of harm.”
SB Energy, an OpenAI- and Nvidia-backed data center builder, was even more explicit in the IPO prospectus it filed on Sept. 1. The company said that among the risks investors face is “growing public skepticism and resistance to AI, including concerns about AI’s impact on employment, privacy, safety, environmental, and broader societal implications.” Those factors, SB said, “could reduce consumer and enterprise willingness to adopt AI technologies and therefore reduce demand for the data center infrastructure that supports them.”
- AI companies preparing for IPOs are warning investors that public backlash against AI and data centers could threaten growth, delay projects and increase regulatory scrutiny.
- Polls show 71% of Americans oppose nearby data centers, while rising political pressure in states like Ohio, Texas and Pennsylvania is turning AI infrastructure into an election issue.
- Anthropic, OpenAI and other AI businesses are investing billions into data centers, making community resistance, permitting delays and environmental concerns major financial risks.
- For lawyers, executives and investors tracking AI markets, the article offers an early look at how IPO disclosures may shape governance, compliance and long-term AI business strategy.
High Stakes for a Potential $2 Trillion IPO
Companies must submit a registration statement, or S-1, to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ahead of an IPO. That document must clearly describe the risk factors a company faces that could affect its value. While the SEC cautions that the language should be tailored to the company’s specific circumstances, many S-1s list similar risk factors. And if AI-adjacent companies like SpaceX or SB Energy are hinting at or explicitly flagging public backlash as a material risk, then Anthropic, OpenAI, and others are likely to follow.
The financial stakes defy superlatives. Anthropic, for instance, is currently valued at $965 billion, and if the business press is right, the company may be chasing a $2 trillion valuation once it goes public. The Wall Street Journal wrote in August that Anthropic “is likely to tell investors” it has potential revenue opportunities north of $30 trillion, higher than SpaceX’s estimate in its blockbuster IPO earlier this year.
Data centers are a linchpin of future revenue projections. By scaling up computing power and storage, companies believe their AI models will improve and that they can increase the number of consumers and businesses dependent on and paying premiums for the technology. Anthropic alone has said it intends to invest $50 billion to build new data centers in the United States. OpenAI, home of ChatGPT, is committing even more, an estimated $750 billion by 2030 for additional computing power.
Growing Opposition: Why Data Centers Are Becoming a 2026 Election Issue
Multi-trillion-dollar hype, however, may die out quickly if an angry public is marching toward their local data centers with pitchforks and torches. Overall, a strong majority of Americans have told pollsters that they believe the risks of AI outweigh its benefits. In a Quinnipiac University survey released in March, 55% of Americans said they think AI will do more harm than good and only 21% trust the results they get from AI platforms.
The public mood sours even more when the subject turns to data centers. In a Gallup poll released in May, 71% of Americans said they oppose data center construction in their local areas. By comparison, just 53% said they would oppose a nearby nuclear power plant. “Most Americans,” Gallup said, “appear to be adopting a ‘not in my backyard’ attitude to building additional data centers, and that attitude is especially intense, given that nearly half (48%) strongly oppose that construction.”
Ominously for AI companies, public opposition is spilling over into midterm election races. An Aug. 18 memo on the Senate race in Ohio from the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) described data centers as an “anchor hanging around the neck” of their candidate, incumbent Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio. His Democratic opponent, former Sen. Sherrod Brown, has run a series of ads calling Husted “the face of data centers” and is currently ahead in the polls.
The NRSC memo, obtained by The New York Times, said that data centers had become “the sleeper issue” of the 2026 election cycle and warned that “if voters’ perceptions of data centers are not fixed quickly, the campaign against them will expand far beyond Ohio,” and “elected officials will treat Ohio as their reason to work against data centers in the future.”
Indeed, the issue is emerging in a growing number of congressional and statehouse races. As the Times reported, data centers have become an issue for candidates in Texas, Wisconsin, Florida, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. In a social media post, one prominent venture capital investor quoted by the Times called the issue “a powder keg” and said the AI industry had “failed miserably” in painting “a positive picture of what is possible with AI.”
AI Risk Factors: What Other IPO Filings Reveal
Recent IPO filings by AI-sector companies may offer clues about the kinds of backlash-related risk factors Anthropic and OpenAI may look to disclose.
In June, Csquare, a data center operator, warned that community backlash over electricity consumption, noise, land use and other environmental concerns could mean delays in approving new data centers and restrictions on future expansion. SB Energy’s September filing noted that regulatory delays, permit denials, costly conditions or mitigation measures, and moratoriums or outright bans on data center projects could “render projects economically unviable or force us to abandon affected projects entirely.”
And AI chipmaker Cerebras said that artificial intelligence presents “increasing ethical and legal concerns relating to its responsible use.” Those issues could “affect the adoption of AI, and thus our business,” the company said.
While SpaceX is a sprawling company focused on far more than its artificial intelligence division, its prospectus’ 34-page list of risk factors includes warnings that its AI products are subject to complex and evolving laws and regulations in the United States and abroad. “Many of these…are subject to change and uncertain interpretation, and we could be required to make changes to our products and business practices, and be exposed to monetary penalties, increased cost of operations, declines in user growth or engagement, or loss of customers,” the company said.
Leaning on Wilson: The Law Firm Behind Anthropic's IPO
For Anthropic at least, a legal hand well-versed in taking game-changing technology companies to market is handling its IPO prep. According to Tech Crunch, Silicon Valley stalwart Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati was tapped late last year to prepare the company “for what could be one of the largest IPOs ever.”
Wilson’s tech IPO resume is long and storied. The firm helped take Apple Inc. to market in 1980. It represented Netscape Communications in its 1995 IPO, a market debut that signaled the opening of the late ‘90s dot-com boom. In 2004, the firm represented Google Inc. in its Wall Street opening and has since helped companies like LinkedIn and Lyft through the initial public offering process.
Anthropic was founded in early 2021, and it began working with Wilson a year later. The firm’s relationship has certain parallels to its pre-IPO work with Google. As Anthropic intends to do, Google went to market with a unique ownership structure. The company’s founders retained control after the IPO through Class A shares, while investors were offered Class B shares via a “Dutch auction.” Famously, the company quoted its mission statement “Don’t be evil” in its prospectus. “Google is not a conventional company,” it wrote.
Anthropic is unconventional as well. Wilson has helped structure the company as a public benefit corporation, which has a legal obligation to balance profit with social and public good. The company has also established a long-term benefit trust, an oversight body that independently ensures the company is meeting its public benefit mission. In August, Reuters reported that the company, like Google, is also exploring a dual-class stock structure that would give its founders extra voting powers to “insulate them from stockholder pressure.”
OpenAI is also working with two firms with long IPO and Wall Street credentials. The company’s longtime counsel Cooley is counseling on the mechanics of the IPO and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz is advising on corporate and governance issues. OpenAI confirmed in June that it had privately filed preliminary IPO paperwork with the SEC. The company has valued itself at $856 billion. According to CNBC, the company’s chief financial officer told employees that OpenAI “will be a public company in 2027,” but did not commit to a specific date for the launch.
While Anthropic’s IPO date has not yet been set, Reuters recently wrote that the company’s public prospectus is expected just after Labor Day, with a listing on the Nasdaq exchange sometime later in September or October.
FAQ
Why is AI backlash showing up in IPO filings?
SEC rules require companies to disclose material risks to investors. As public opposition to AI and data centers grows, several AI-sector companies have begun formally listing that backlash as a risk factor in their prospectuses.
How much is Anthropic worth?
Anthropic is currently valued at $965 billion privately and may seek a valuation near $2 trillion once it goes public.
What percentage of Americans oppose data centers?
71% of Americans oppose data center construction in their local area, according to a May 2026 Gallup poll—more opposition than a nearby nuclear power plant draws.
Which law firms are handling the Anthropic and OpenAI IPOs?
Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati is guiding Anthropic's IPO. Cooley is advising OpenAI on IPO mechanics, while Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz is handling corporate governance.
When will Anthropic go public?
Anthropic's public prospectus is expected shortly after Labor Day, with a Nasdaq listing anticipated in September or October, according to Reuters.
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David L. Brown is a legal affairs writer and consultant, who has served as head of editorial at ALM Media, editor-in-chief of The National Law Journal and Legal Times, and executive editor of The American Lawyer. He consults on thought leadership strategy and creates in-depth content for legal industry clients and works closely with Best Law Firms as senior content consultant.