Anthropic Plans $6 Billion Share Sale to Provide Liquidity to Staff

Current and former workers of Anthropic will be able to sell stock at a valuation of roughly $350 billion through a secondary share sale that the company is initiating.  To avoid going public, this is the next logical step in providing liquidity. An investment of $5 billion to $6 billion has been secured by the AI firm for the deal. The number of eligible employees who opt to participate will determine the final offering size. The terms are still subject to modification and have not been finalised. The shares will be bought by outside investors, not by Anthropic. Anyone with a year of service or more, even former employees, should be able to take advantage of the discount.

Why Anthropic Opted for Share Sale?

The sale of shares follows Anthropic's most recent round of funding, which valued the firm at $380 million after accounting for all funds raised, including new cash. Under the proposed secondary offering, investors will be able to purchase insider shares at a price lower than the most recent fundraising valuation. Companies in the high-growth tech industry, especially those involved in AI, are increasingly engaging in secondary sales. Companies can stay private and postpone stock market listings with their help, allowing staff to benefit from increasing valuations.

Last year, rival AI startup OpenAI reportedly brokered a $6.6 billion share sale at a valuation of $500 billion, and it has a history of facilitating secondary trades. Companies like Stripe and SpaceX have utilised comparable frameworks to offer liquidity to their employees. This development exemplifies how fierce the talent war is becoming in the artificial intelligence sector, where equitable remuneration is crucial for attracting and retaining top people.

Secondary sales provide an opportunity to compensate early employees without compromising operational control by going public. The move is particularly useful in a market when valuations are skyrocketing and public listings are still a mystery.

Anthropic Playing a Balancing Act

In the midst of increased scrutiny over artificial intelligence (AI) governance and commercialisation, Anthropic is scaling operations. The most recent move indicates that it is balancing the demands of investors with those of employees. It is yet unknown whether the business would move forward with an initial public offering anytime soon.

Currently, Anthropic is one of the most highly valued private technology companies in the world, and the secondary sale gives insiders a structured way out. Leading artificial intelligence companies like Anthropic and OpenAI have been preparing for possible initial public offerings (IPOs) for some time now. Nevertheless, the urgency to list has diminished due to large-scale private investment rounds.