Anthropic, the AI safety company and maker of the Claude family of AI models, has reached an implied valuation of roughly $1 trillion on Forge Global, a private share marketplace, according to the platform’s CEO Kelly Rodriques, putting it ahead of OpenAI, which trades at an implied $880 billion on the same platform.
The secondary market figures stand in stark contrast to primary round valuations. Anthropic’s most recent primary fundraise, a GIC and Coatue-led deal that closed roughly three months ago, set its valuation at $380 billion, less than half what the secondary market now implies. OpenAI’s last primary raise pegged it at $852 billion.
The gap between primary and secondary valuations reflects a severe shortage of available shares. With few sellers willing to part with their stakes, intense competition among would-be buyers has driven prices steadily higher. Glen Anderson, CEO of Rainmaker Securities, described seeing a bid for Anthropic shares priced at a $960 billion valuation disappear to another buyer before he could even assess it. One shareholder offered to sell at a $1.15 trillion valuation, according to Business Insider, while a prominent growth fund offered to buy at $1.05 trillion. Anderson noted the frenzy is driven less by careful valuation analysis than by investor anxiety about missing out entirely.
Current Anthropic shareholders report being inundated with unsolicited approaches but show little inclination to sell. Bradley Horowitz, a general partner at Wisdom Ventures, an early backer of both Anthropic and OpenAI, told Business Insider the firm is taking a long-term view on its position. OpenAI’s secondary market dynamics look markedly different, with Anderson noting that buyer interest there has been thin, with few willing to match even the price set during the company’s last primary fundraise.
A key driver of investor appetite is Anthropic’s rapid revenue growth. The company’s annualized revenue run rate surged from $9 billion late last year to $30 billion by March 2026, a jump analysts have tied largely to breakout adoption of its Claude Code developer tool. The secondary market activity comes as Anthropic has also drawn attention for its public dispute with the Defense Department after refusing to allow its AI models to be used for autonomous weapons or domestic surveillance, and for the unveiling of Project Glasswing, a cybersecurity initiative built around a new unreleased model called Claude Mythos, with partners including Microsoft, Google, and AWS.
Because neither Anthropic nor OpenAI has gone public, shares can generally only change hands through private secondary transactions, typically stock offloaded by employees, alumni, or early investors. Neither company responded to requests for comment
