Jim Cramer says Anthropic's IPO could make or break the AI trade. Here's why

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Mad Money

Published Mon, Nov 9 20266:30 PM EST

Key Points

• Jim Cramer said Anthropic's upcoming IPO could be crucial to a recovery in AI stocks.
• A disappointing offering could have ripple effects across the industry.

Anthropic's upcoming initial public offering could be a crucial test of investor confidence in the artificial intelligence trade, CNBC's Jim Cramer said on Monday.

"Without it, I don't see how the AI-related stocks can make a real recovery," the "Mad Money" host said, exactly two weeks after the Claude developer filed its S-1 IPO paperwork. Despite the recent sell-off in AI stocks, Anthropic is reportedly moving ahead with its IPO plans. The company is expected to meet with major investors this week and is targeting a trading debut as early as Thursday or Friday of next week, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. "I don't think it's hyperbolic to say that this could be one of the most consequential IPOs in history."

Cramer explained that the billions of dollars being spent on AI chips and data centers ultimately depend on a handful of AI developers, including Anthropic, generating enough revenue to justify those investments.

"Anthropic is important because it is one of just a few companies at the end of the food chain for all of the AI data center investments that we've seen, so it is one of the few companies that, ultimately, needs to make money from all of this investment spending," Cramer said. "If it can't do that, or if it cannot convince enough investors that it will do so, then it's tough to justify all of the AI investments that are being made today."

On Friday, during the CNBC Investing Club's Annual Meeting, Cramer also stressed the importance of the Anthropic offering to the AI trade and to Club portfolio names Alphabet, Amazon and Nvidia.