A major step toward a public offering: Anthropic, one of the leaders in artificial intelligence development, is considering allowing early investors and employees to sell their shares as part of an initial public offering (IPO). This decision notably sets the company apart from other giants such as SpaceX, which traditionally restrict insider sales at this stage.
Key details of the offering
The prospectus is expected to be published shortly after Labor Day, which falls on September 7. In this document, the company will disclose financial metrics and risks, which will serve as an important signal to the market. Notably, Anthropic plans to use a dual-class share structure with enhanced voting rights for founders—a tool that Elon Musk successfully used to maintain control over SpaceX.
Unlike SpaceX, where only new shares hit the market (638.9 million shares at $135, a valuation of $86 billion), Anthropic may allow insiders to sell part of their stakes. This will create additional supply, but at the same time give early investors the opportunity to lock in profits at the offering price. Buyers, meanwhile, will have to acquire a larger volume of shares upfront.
Lock-up and exit strategy
The company is considering introducing a longer lock-up period than usual. This means that after trading begins, insiders will not be able to sell shares for longer, but they will receive part of the proceeds already at the IPO stage. This approach reduces the risk of a price collapse immediately after the offering, as happened with SpaceX, when the volume of tradable shares more than doubled overnight.
Among potential sellers are major institutional investors, including Singapore's sovereign fund GIC, Capital Group, and Coatue, which participated in the latest funding round. In May, Anthropic raised $65 billion at a valuation of $965 billion, and now these investors are likely to want to exit part of their positions at a higher price.
Analyst's view
Anthropic's decision to allow insider share sales is a bold move that could set a new standard for tech IPOs. On the one hand, it increases liquidity and confidence, but on the other, it creates pressure on the price in the long term. It is important to watch the prospectus: that is where the names of sellers and transaction amounts will appear, providing a real assessment of the company's value. Activity is already visible in the pre-IPO token market: the PreStocks platform on Solana controls 78% of the turnover in OpenAI and Anthropic shares, indicating high interest from speculative capital. In any case, this IPO will be one of the most significant events of the year for the entire technology sector.