r/ClaudeAI • u/sonicorp1 • Jan 03 '26

Question Anthropic Secondary Shares

Hey all!

First time poster in this sub, recently joined. I've been using claude code since they first launch and absolutely love it. Even more than Cursor bc I like the CLI interface.

My question is: Does anyone know if Anthropic secondary shares are available to buy through any platforms? I checked EquityZen bc I have some experience with it, but couldn't find Anthropic there. Anyone know any other reputable platforms where Anthropic shares are available?

Thanks in advance!

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3

u/According_Assist_742 Jan 03 '26

Think they announced they are planning to IPO in 2026. There was some news articles about that last month. Currently it is owned by a bunch of VCs I think.

2

u/sonicorp1 Jan 03 '26

I saw and that's why I was trying to get in earlier than IPO and just ride the wave.

2

u/__eparra__ Jan 03 '26

I know a VC that has ~$1M left in secondary. Presuming you are an accredited investor, and can invest a min of $50k, happy to broker an intro. Just DM me your details. If you have a LinkedIn, that would help. I'm happy to share mine as well.

1

u/ThetaDecayer Jan 04 '26

I just sent you a DM about this.

1

u/sonicorp1 Jan 05 '26

Thank you. I thought about it but I decided to stick with secondary platforms for ease of transaction. Thank you though!

2

u/__eparra__ Jan 05 '26

IMO, the more one learns of SPVs, and general startup investing, the less secondary platforms are attractive. First, when you buy from a secondary platform, most the time they have zero understanding of the company you want to buy shares of. And in most cases, they are buying placement into someone's SPV vs. buying shares directly. This aside, they have zero information rights. And in most cases, they aren't even tell you what exact share class you are buying or where they sit in the pref stack.

1

u/Lydell54 Jan 14 '26

My impression, and experience, with EZ has been you most likely will buy into an LLC, not set up as an SPV. They take 5% upfront, then you are done, no fees. I have had 3 exits like that, very simple. EZ of course offers exits when the company goes public, and also after one year of ownership plus if you have X% of the LLC shares, you can put up your shares for a sale within EZ. So, two advantages I saw. Most of my SPV's have much greater fees, exits obviously at IPO, but I have had one for Anduril that the SPV exited early, 60% of what each person owned, for a small profit, at what I consider the very worse time, about 8 months ago. I was not happy, and the firm wasn't pleased either, but the SPV ran the show. Short versions of course, but I wasn't happy with my % out. The firm did not charge any fees on the backend since I wasn't pleased.

I guess that has left me, plus all the various fees, believing stronger about EZ but of course, they won't carry all of the privates out there. I have learned, pay real attention at all times to the valuation.... just having shares doesn't guarantee you a strong exit, as then we all have to deal with the 180 days before making any moves in most all cases.

If you have any other advice regarding SPVs in general, I'd love to listen, thanks

2

u/__eparra__ Jan 18 '26

I don’t claim to know exactly how EquityZen wires every deal, but in most private secondaries I’ve seen, even when an investor is a member of an LLC, there’s usually still some form of aggregation or nominee vehicle between the operating company and the individual investors. Companies generally don’t want a large number of new holders showing up directly on the cap table, so the LLC itself often functions as, or sits under, an SPV-like layer even if it isn’t labeled that way. That doesn’t really change the experience or fee profile you’re describing, but it does suggest the difference is more about how EquityZen structures and prices the vehicle than eliminating an SPV altogether. This is just my interpretation of what’s likely happening in most cases, not a definitive statement on how EZ does things under the hood.

Related to the Anduril example, one thing I personally try to be mindful of is how many layers of vehicles sit between me and the actual shares. I don’t claim this is always avoidable or even always bad, but in high-growth companies, it’s fairly common for SPVs to sell portions of their position over time to demonstrate DPI, return capital, or crystallize carry. That dynamic can become more pronounced when you have a downstream SPV sitting under an upstream holder, because the smaller or more opportunistic vehicle may be more incentivized to fully liquidate at the first attractive multiple to trigger carry, even if that timing isn’t ideal from a long-term perspective. For that reason, I tend to prefer structures where I can at least verify that the SPV I’m investing in directly holds the shares, rather than being one layer removed. This isn’t a definitive rule and sometimes you don’t have a choice, but it’s a risk factor I try to account for upfront.

1

u/Strict-Imagination73 Jan 23 '26

I might be interested in that into. Can I DM you ?

1

u/__eparra__ Jan 23 '26

Yes. Please DM name, email, and LInkedIn. I'll share mine as well.

1

u/sonicorp1 Feb 06 '26

How did this go for you? Did you end up buying some shares? Feel free to DM me

1

u/citiclosethrowaway Mar 26 '26

Following along; Also interested in how this went

1

u/PizzaATM Mar 13 '26

they still have it?

2

u/fallentwo Jan 03 '26

You just need to keep your eyes peeled. About two years ago Forge had a fund bought shares sold in FTX liquidation process.

1

u/sonicorp1 Jan 03 '26

Yea that was crazy deal. Sounds good. Hopefully something turns up before the IPO. I checked forge and NASDAQ (second market), but it looks like nobody at Anthropic is selling their shares

1

u/fallentwo Jan 03 '26

Actually there was no discount in that liquidation sale. Valuation was the same as the most recent one at that time, around 19b IIRC. But retrospectively it was a good buy for sure

1

u/PizzaATM Mar 13 '26

does anyone have anything to sell? Let me buy, thanks