Somewhere in California, a nervous banker is refreshing his inbox waiting for Anthropic to actually press "publish" on its own prospectus. Reporters got hold of Anthropic's IPO filing before the company itself officially released it, even as a November listing is supposedly still on the cards. Meanwhile Oura postponed its float citing "uncertainty in the IPO market," joining SB Energy, Holtec International and OpenAI on the growing list of tech names hitting the snooze button. Even Anthropic's own filing devotes nearly a third of the document to risk factors, including the cheerful possibility that its AI could "manipulate, blackmail" and pose "existential risks to humanity." Nothing says "buy my shares" quite like a warning about the end of the world.

Across the Atlantic, things are refreshingly less apocalyptic. Buy-now-pay-later fintech Zilch has invited banks to pitch for roles on a planned London listing as soon as next year. No existential dread,  just a company that trimmed its losses to £10.5mn last year, down from £50mn the year before, and is aiming to be profitable by the time it lists. Zilch has also picked up a European banking licence via its acquisition of Lithuania's Fjord Bank, which is more than can be said for anyone trying to get regulatory clarity on superintelligent chatbots.

The London Stock Exchange, still nursing wounds from a multiyear listings drought and a wave of takeovers, is hoping Zilch joins fellow fintechs like Monzo, Starling and OakNorth. Where Wall Street is drowning in $518bn infrastructure bills and blackmail-capable chatbots, London is quietly assembling a rather sensible queue of fintechs that, refreshingly, know how to make money without threatening humanity.

So while American bankers reach for a stiff drink to steady their nerves, London is polishing its welcome mat. Perhaps the City's pitch really is this simple: come list here, where the biggest risk factor is the weather.

If you're weighing up an AIM or a London Stock Exchange listing or any other corporate transaction and fancy straightforward commercial advice in relation to a market that is not bracing for the robot uprising, we're a strong team of legal corporate finance advisers led by me Daniel Bellau, available to discuss it with you at any time. Get in touch with me at daniel.bellau@edwincoe.com.