Anthropic reaches $1 trillion valuation on secondary markets

Anthropic’s valuation has surged to $1 trillion on secondary markets, overtaking rival OpenAI in investor demand despite being valued at less than half of OpenAI’s $852 billion in their most recent funding rounds. Business Insider reports that the AI company’s shares are now trading above $1 trillion on Forge Global, a leading private marketplace exchange.

Since Anthropic and OpenAI are not yet public companies, investors must buy shares through secondary markets, where current or former employees and early investors sell existing stock. Demand has grown so intense that some buyers are offering to trade their homes for Anthropic shares.

Glen Anderson, CEO of Rainmaker Securities, tells Business Insider that offers are being snapped up within a single day. “There are almost no sellers,” he says. Anthropic shareholders report receiving multiple purchase offers daily. Bradley Horowitz, general partner at Wisdom Ventures and an early Anthropic investor, says his firm is not selling. “We are playing a long game,” he states.

Much of the frenzy is driven by fear of missing out rather than market fundamentals, according to Anderson. “It’s almost less about the return than being able to say they’re an Anthropic investor,” he explains.

Meanwhile, OpenAI shares are seeing weak demand, with bids falling below its last funding valuation. “The sentiment has certainly shifted to Anthropic,” Anderson says.