On April 9, according to informed sources, employees of Anthropic have officially sold part of their shares to investors, completing the share transfer initiated at the beginning of the year. However, this acquisition, originally planned to reach $6 billion, ended up being far below expectations, due to employees' reluctance to sell.

Key Highlights: Employees Are Holding Back, Investors Can't Get the Shares

Although investors had already prepared large amounts of cash, the actual number of shares purchased fell short of expectations:

  • High Demand, Low Supply: Due to the limited number of shares that employees were willing to sell, some investors failed to purchase the intended amount.

  • Deal Size Reduced: Some investors had previously planned to invest up to $6 billion, but the final transaction amount was significantly reduced due to "insufficient supply."

  • Preparing for IPO: This strong reluctance to sell stems from the extreme confidence of current and former employees in the company's future. It is reported that they plan to continue holding more shares to wait for the anticipated initial public offering (IPO) starting as early as this year.

Valuation Benchmark: Securing a $350 Billion Mark

The pricing logic of this tender offer further solidifies Anthropic's top position in the capital market:

  • Aligned with Latest Funding: The acquisition price is consistent with the company's latest funding valuation in February.

  • Massive Scale: In the latest round of funding, the company's valuation reached $350 billion, and this number has not yet included the newly raised $3 billion.

Industry Perspective: The "Value" Game of the AI Leader

Anthropic, as the strongest competitor of OpenAI, has a significant impact on the secondary market:

  • Victory Through Talent Retention: Employees choosing to hold shares long-term instead of cashing out shows deep confidence in the company's technology path and listing premium.

  • An Exception in the Capital Retreat: Amid ongoing volatility in global tech stocks, equity in top AI large model companies remains a scarce resource sought after by the capital market.

Conclusion: The Starting Gun for the IPO Has Been Fired

When employees start refusing billion-dollar-level profit-taking opportunities, Anthropic's IPO is getting closer. For this $350 billion giant, this is not only a successful share transfer, but also a "muscle display" to global investors.