ProShares has filed registration statements with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for two leveraged exchange-traded funds tied to Anthropic after its planned Nasdaq listing under the ticker ANT. The proposed funds would offer amplified bullish and bearish exposure to the developer of Claude, extending the asset manager’s strategy already used for cryptocurrency-linked companies including Coinbase and Circle.
The proposed products are the ProShares Ultra Anthropic ETF, trading as ANTU, and the ProShares UltraShort Anthropic ETF, trading as ANTY. ANTU would target 2x daily bullish exposure, while ANTY would target -2x daily bearish exposure. Both funds have a net expense ratio of 0.95% and a gross expense ratio of 1.04%. ProShares expects to obtain exposure primarily through swap agreements and direct holdings of Anthropic shares.
ProShares CEO Michael L. Sapir said the funds would let investors express bullish or bearish views on Anthropic without directly borrowing shares or using a conventional margin account. “ANTU, the 2x leveraged Anthropic ETF, will offer investors a convenient way to magnify a bullish view on Anthropic through a single ticker in a brokerage account,” Sapir said.
The filing comes as Anthropic’s planned IPO faces growing uncertainty. According to The Wall Street Journal, at least three major investors believe the AI company may have to lower its expected valuation from around $1.5 trillion to closer to $1 trillion, and it could reduce its fundraising target from approximately $100 billion to $80 billion. The concerns follow a sharp sell-off in AI-related stocks, with the Nasdaq Composite falling as much as 5% on Thursday.
Anthropic’s amended IPO filing showed third-quarter revenue of $17 billion, while its revenue run rate exceeded $80 billion at the end of October. The company also disclosed approximately $895.4 billion in commitments for computing capacity, chips and other infrastructure. The IPO roadshow was initially expected to begin during the week of November 9, but deteriorating market conditions could force the company to reconsider its timetable.
ProShares warned that daily compounding can create substantial differences between the underlying stock’s cumulative return and the ETF’s performance. Newly listed shares can experience sharp price adjustments, wide spreads and liquidity interruptions, which may increase the cost of adjusting derivatives and stock positions. The registration statements for both ETFs have been filed with the SEC but are not yet effective, and no confirmed launch date has been announced.
