How to Buy Anthropic Stock Before the IPO

Anthropic just became one of the most valuable AI companies on Earth. The maker of Claude AI is seeking funding at a $60 billion valuation—a 48x increase from its $1.25 billion valuation just two and a half years ago. If you’re searching for how to buy Anthropic stock, you’re not alone.

The short answer: you almost certainly can’t. Anthropic remains private, has no announced IPO timeline, and—unlike other high-profile unicorns—has virtually no secondary market availability. Even accredited investors with six-figure minimums struggle to find shares. This is one of the least accessible private companies in tech.

But “nearly impossible” isn’t the full story. This guide breaks down exactly what access exists (spoiler: not much), who Anthropic’s major investors are, and how retail investors can get indirect exposure to the AI safety leader’s success.

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Quick Summary

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What Is Anthropic?

Anthropic is an AI safety company founded in 2021 by Dario and Daniela Amodei, siblings who previously held senior positions at OpenAI. They left after disagreements over safety priorities—specifically, concerns that OpenAI was moving too fast without adequate safeguards.

The company builds Claude, a family of AI assistants designed with “Constitutional AI”—a framework where the AI is trained to follow explicit principles rather than just pattern-matching from human feedback. The current lineup includes Claude 3 Haiku (fast and affordable), Claude 3 Sonnet (balanced), and Claude 3 Opus (most capable).

Why Investors Are Interested

Anthropic occupies a unique position in the AI landscape:

• The “responsible AI” brand: While OpenAI races to ship products and Google scrambles to catch up, Anthropic has positioned itself as the safety-first alternative for enterprises worried about AI risk
• Enterprise traction: Major companies choose Claude specifically because of its safety focus and reliable behavior
• Strategic backing: Amazon has invested over $4 billion; Google has invested $300+ million. These aren’t just financial bets—they’re cloud computing partnerships
• Public Benefit Corporation structure: Unlike typical startups, Anthropic’s PBC status legally obligates it to consider societal impact alongside profit

The company has raised approximately $7.4 billion in total funding, with its valuation trajectory looking more like a rocket than a growth curve.

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Can You Buy Anthropic Stock?

The direct answer: No. And unlike SpaceX, Stripe, or other unicorns where secondary markets provide a workaround, Anthropic shares are genuinely scarce.

Here’s why:

1. Recent founding: The company is only three years old. There hasn’t been enough time for early employees to vest shares and seek liquidity
2. Limited employee grants: AI companies often grant equity more conservatively than traditional tech startups due to the capital-intensive nature of the business
3. Strong investor hold periods: Major backers like Amazon and Google have strategic reasons to hold, not sell
4. Transfer restrictions: The company likely restricts secondary sales more aggressively than older unicorns

I checked the major secondary market platforms—Hiive, Forge Global, EquityZen—and found no active Anthropic listings. Some platforms feature Anthropic on their homepages as a “coming soon” opportunity, but that’s marketing, not availability.

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Accredited Investor Requirements

Even if Anthropic shares become available on secondary markets, you’ll need to qualify as an accredited investor. The SEC defines accredited investors as individuals meeting at least one of these criteria:

Income Test:

• $200,000+ annual income for the past two years (individual), OR
• $300,000+ combined income with spouse
• Reasonable expectation of the same income this year

Net Worth Test:

• $1 million+ net worth, excluding your primary residence

Professional Credentials:

• Series 7, 65, or 82 licenses
• Certain other professional designations

Reality Check: About 13% of U.S. households qualify as accredited investors. If you don’t meet these thresholds—or if you do but don’t want to chase scarce shares—skip to the “Alternatives for Retail Investors” section below.

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How to Invest in Anthropic (If Accredited)

If you’re accredited and determined to pursue Anthropic shares, here’s the landscape:

Secondary Market Platforms

These platforms facilitate transactions in private company stock. For Anthropic specifically, availability is extremely limited:

Hiive

• Minimum: Typically $25,000+
• Fees: 2-5% transaction fee
• Status: No current Anthropic listings

Forge Global

• Minimum: Typically $25,000+
• Fees: 2-8% depending on transaction
• Status: No current Anthropic listings

EquityZen

• Minimum: Typically $25,000+
• Fees: 5-10%
• Status: Featured on homepage but no active offerings

Linqto

• Minimum: $10,000+
• Fees: 5-8%
• Status: Limited availability

The Waitlist Reality

Most platforms will let you join a waitlist or express interest. This means:

• You’ll be notified if shares become available
• You’ll compete with other accredited investors for limited supply
• Pricing will reflect extreme scarcity (likely at or above the latest valuation)

What You’re Actually Buying

If you do find Anthropic shares, understand what you’re purchasing:

• Likely common shares or employee stock options (not preferred shares like VCs hold)
• No voting rights in most cases
• No guaranteed liquidity until IPO (which may be 3-5+ years away)
• Potential for significant dilution from future funding rounds

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Alternatives for Retail Investors

You don’t need accreditation—or access to unicorn shares—to benefit from Anthropic’s success. Here’s how:

1. Amazon (AMZN)

Amazon has invested over $4 billion in Anthropic, making it the company’s largest outside backer. The investment includes:

• Direct equity stake
• AWS cloud computing partnership (Anthropic runs on AWS)
• Integration of Claude into Amazon’s enterprise offerings

The catch: Anthropic represents less than 1% of Amazon’s $2+ trillion market cap. You’re primarily buying e-commerce, cloud computing, and advertising—not an AI safety company.

Current price: ~$225/share

2. Alphabet (GOOGL)

Google has invested $300+ million in Anthropic and provides cloud infrastructure through Google Cloud. The relationship is somewhat unusual—Google also owns DeepMind and develops competing AI products—but the strategic investment is real.

The catch: Like Amazon, Anthropic is a tiny fraction of Alphabet’s value. You’re buying search, YouTube, and cloud—with a small AI startup stake on the side.

Current price: ~$195/share

3. Salesforce (CRM)

Salesforce has partnered with Anthropic to integrate Claude into its enterprise platform. While not a direct equity investment of the same magnitude, the partnership ties Salesforce’s success partially to Claude’s adoption.

Current price: ~$340/share

4. AI-Focused ETFs

No ETFs hold direct Anthropic stakes (it’s private), but several provide broad AI sector exposure:

The catch: These ETFs hold public AI companies—NVIDIA, Microsoft, Google—not private startups. You’re betting on AI broadly, not Anthropic specifically.

5. Play the AI Safety Thesis Instead

If you believe in Anthropic’s vision—that AI safety will become a competitive advantage—consider this: the thesis doesn’t require owning Anthropic stock.

Companies that prioritize responsible AI development may outperform over the long term as regulation increases and enterprise buyers demand safety guarantees. This includes:

• Large tech companies with AI ethics teams and governance frameworks
• Enterprise software companies integrating AI cautiously
• Cybersecurity firms addressing AI-specific risks

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Valuation History

Anthropic’s funding trajectory shows the explosive growth of AI valuations:

What this means for entry price: If you could buy Anthropic shares on the secondary market, you’d likely pay at or above the $60 billion valuation. That’s 48x higher than two years ago. The easy money—if there ever was any—has already been made by early investors.

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The Real Risks of Pre-IPO Anthropic Investment

Even if you could access Anthropic shares, here’s what you’d be signing up for:

Extreme Liquidity Risk

This isn’t like buying SpaceX, where secondary markets have years of transaction history. Anthropic shares essentially don’t trade. If you somehow acquired them:

• You’d have no reliable way to sell before an IPO
• The company could remain private for 5+ years
• Lock-up periods post-IPO could extend your holding period further

Treat any Anthropic investment as completely illiquid capital.

Valuation Risk at Historic Levels

A $60 billion valuation for a three-year-old company with undisclosed revenue is… ambitious. For context:

• OpenAI, with ChatGPT’s massive consumer traction, is valued at ~$150 billion
• Anthropic has strong enterprise adoption but less consumer visibility
• The AI sector broadly may be experiencing valuation inflation

Remember Instacart: valued at $39 billion in private markets in 2021, it IPO’d at $9.9 billion in 2023—a 75% haircut.

Burn Rate Concerns

AI companies are extraordinarily capital-intensive. Training large language models requires:

• Massive compute infrastructure (hence the AWS and Google Cloud partnerships)
• Top-tier AI researcher salaries ($500K-$1M+ annually)
• Ongoing research and development

Industry estimates suggest Anthropic burns $500+ million annually. The frequent funding rounds aren’t just growth capital—they’re survival capital.

Regulatory Uncertainty

AI regulation is coming. The EU AI Act is already in effect. The U.S. is debating federal frameworks. Anthropic’s safety-first approach might be an advantage here—or it might mean slower product development while competitors move faster.

Competition Risk

Anthropic competes with:

• OpenAI (ChatGPT, GPT-4)
• Google DeepMind (Gemini)
• Microsoft (Copilot, backed by OpenAI)
• Meta (Llama, open-source approach)
• Emerging Chinese competitors

The AI landscape is evolving monthly. Today’s leader can be tomorrow’s also-ran.

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When Will Anthropic Go Public?

Official position: Anthropic has made no public statements about IPO timing. The company appears focused on building technology rather than preparing for public markets.

Analyst speculation: Most observers expect a 2027-2029 timeline based on:

• Typical unicorn maturation cycles (5-10 years from founding to IPO)
• Need for more predictable revenue before going public
• Current private market funding availability reducing IPO pressure

Complicating factors:

• The Public Benefit Corporation structure may require additional disclosures or governance changes before IPO
• Strategic investors (Amazon, Google) may prefer Anthropic stays private to maintain competitive advantages
• AI market conditions could accelerate or delay timing

Comparable timelines:

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The Bottom Line

Anthropic is one of the most exciting AI companies in the world—and one of the least accessible for individual investors.

If you’re a retail investor: Your best path to Anthropic exposure is through Amazon or Alphabet stock, accepting that the AI startup represents a tiny fraction of what you’re actually buying. AI-focused ETFs offer broader sector exposure without the single-company concentration.

If you’re an accredited investor: You can join waitlists on secondary market platforms, but don’t expect shares to materialize soon. Even if they do, you’ll pay premium prices for illiquid assets with uncertain exit timelines.

The honest take: The people who will profit most from Anthropic’s success are its founders, early employees, and institutional investors who got in at $1-4 billion valuations. At $60 billion, you’re buying the dream at a price that already reflects enormous expectations.

If you believe in AI safety as a long-term investment thesis, you don’t need Anthropic stock to act on that belief. The public markets offer plenty of ways to bet on responsible AI development—with liquidity, transparency, and regulatory protection that private markets can’t match.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can you buy Anthropic stock?

No. Anthropic is a private company with no publicly traded shares. Unlike some unicorns with active secondary markets, Anthropic shares are extremely scarce—even accredited investors with $25,000+ minimums struggle to find available shares on platforms like Hiive, Forge, or EquityZen.

Is Anthropic publicly traded?

No. Anthropic remains privately held with no announced IPO timeline. The company was founded in 2021 and has raised approximately $7.4 billion in private funding from investors including Amazon and Google.

How much is Anthropic worth?

Anthropic is seeking funding at a $60 billion valuation as of December 2024. This represents a 48x increase from its $1.25 billion Series A valuation in May 2022. The company’s valuation has grown rapidly alongside the broader AI market boom.

When will Anthropic IPO?

Anthropic has not announced any IPO plans. Analysts speculate a 2027-2029 timeline based on typical startup maturation cycles, but the company’s Public Benefit Corporation structure and strong private funding availability may delay public market entry further.

How can retail investors get exposure to Anthropic?

Retail investors can gain indirect exposure through Amazon (AMZN), which has invested over $4 billion in Anthropic, or Alphabet (GOOGL), which has invested $300+ million. However, Anthropic represents less than 1% of either company’s market value. AI-focused ETFs like ARKQ or BOTZ offer broader AI sector exposure.

Who are Anthropic’s biggest investors?

Amazon is Anthropic’s largest investor with over $4 billion invested across multiple rounds. Google has invested $300+ million. Other notable investors include Jaan Tallinn (Skype co-founder), Eric Schmidt (former Google CEO), and various venture capital firms.

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Sources

• Bloomberg: “Anthropic Seeks to Raise Funding at $60 Billion Valuation” (December 2024)
• TechCrunch: “Anthropic raises $4B from Amazon, brings total funding to over $7.4B” (September 2024)
• Reuters: “Anthropic funding round values AI startup at $18 billion” (May 2024)
• SEC: Accredited Investor Definition, Rule 501 of Regulation D
• CNBC: “Instacart IPO prices at $9.9 billion valuation” (September 2023)
• Anthropic: Company website and documentation
• Hiive, Forge Global, EquityZen: Platform documentation and current listings