Anthropic’s market-implied pre-IPO valuation has surged to a record $1.4 trillion, a 40% jump in just 24 days, according to on-chain pre-IPO trading data cited by market commentators. This rapid rise places the AI developer among the world’s most watched private companies, intensifying speculation that it could overtake OpenAI’s $852 billion valuation before either lists publicly. Reports suggest a potential IPO as early as October 2026.
The valuation leap follows exceptional revenue growth, with annualized revenue reportedly climbing from $100 million in 2023 to roughly $45 billion in 2026, driven by enterprise adoption of Claude and Claude Code. Strategic infrastructure deals, including a $1.8 billion cloud contract with Akamai and computing capacity from xAI’s Colossus 1 center, have supported its expansion.
On May 11, however, Anthropic voided all unauthorized secondary trades of its stock, posting a notice that any sale or transfer without explicit board approval “is void and will not be recognized on our books and records.” Crypto lawyer Gabriel Shapiro warned that using the word “void” rather than “voidable” is the most aggressive legal stance, potentially eliminating equitable defenses for downstream buyers. Under Delaware law, this could mean original sellers retain both cash and shares, while buyers have no recognized rights.
Secondary platforms Forge Global and Hiive—where Anthropic’s implied valuation recently topped $1 trillion—are among those listed as unauthorized. Investment vehicles like Open Door Partners, Pachamama, and Sydecar are also named. With demand for pre-IPO Anthropic exposure described as intense and supply nearly nonexistent, the voiding creates acute legal uncertainty for tokenized security holders and could freeze speculative trading in AI shares globally.
Legal experts expect Delaware courts to be the first venue for potential class actions, as the enforceability of such void-transfer language confronts a multi-billion-dollar secondary market. Other trillion-dollar private AI firms may follow suit, reshaping how tokenized pre-IPO instruments function.
