Against this backdrop, buyers are keen to get their hands on the dwindling supply of Anthropic shares on the secondary market, notes Business Insider. This is causing the artificial intelligence company’s valuation to rise even further and is already hovering around $1 trillion, a price that seemed unthinkable just a few weeks ago.
Meanwhile, traders Business Insider spoke to are noticing a drop in demand for OpenAI stock, which is now trading at a discount to Anthropic.
As a reminder, Anthropic was founded in 2021 by former OpenAI employees. The President of the company is Daniela Amodei, the CEO is Dario Amodei. In turn, OpenAI, founded in 2015 and headed by Sam Altman, was left by Ilon Musk, one of the founders, who refused to participate in the work of the Board of Directors.
Agitated demand for shares
Since Anthropic and OpenAI are not yet public companies, the vast majority of investors are forced to buy shares on the secondary market. At the same time, existing shares of the companies are sold by current or former employees or early investors.
Just three months ago, Anthropic completed a funding round led by GIC and Coatue, valuing the company at $380 billion.
Since then, Silicon Valley has seen excitement around Anthropic’s stock as investors have been impressed by the company’s rapid revenue growth and momentum, particularly its AI-based programming assistant, Claude code.
“It’s been an epic period for Anthropic,” said Glen Anderson, CEO of Rainmaker Securities, an investment bank specializing in private securities transactions. “Everyone wants to be part of a unique opportunity in AI, and right now Anthropic is in a leadership position.”
Much of the demand is driven more by fear of missing out (FOMO) than market fundamentals, he said: investors at venture capital firms and family offices feel the need to own Anthropic stock regardless of price.
