If you are searching for how to invest in the Anthropic IPO, let me share some ideas on how to gain access. The Anthropic IPO will likely be in high demand, so getting allocated IPO shares will likely be difficult. But fear not.
Anthropic, the company behind Claude, has remained privately held while its valuation has exploded. After raising $65 billion at a $965 billion post-money valuation in May 2026, Anthropic’s revenue run rate subsequently climbed above $65 billion by the end of July.
Bloomberg has reported that Anthropic is preparing to file its IPO publicly toward the end of August 2026, potentially setting up one of the biggest technology IPOs in history. Even bigger than SpaceX’s IPO.
The obvious question is: What is the best way to invest in Anthropic before the IPO?
My answer is VCX, the Fundrise Growth Tech Fund publicly listed on the NYSE.
I own VCX, and I have been investing in Fundrise’s venture product since 2023. I believe VCX provides one of the most interesting ways for ordinary investors to gain exposure to Anthropic, particularly because Anthropic is only one piece of a portfolio that also includes OpenAI, Databricks, Anduril, and other high-growth private technology companies.
Here’s my detailed VCX NAV analysis for your review.
Anthropic Could Be the Biggest IPO of 2026
Anthropic’s growth has been extraordinary.
The company reported a $47 billion annualized revenue run rate in May 2026. By the end of July, that figure had reportedly climbed above $65 billion. That’s roughly a sevenfold increase from the approximately $9 billion run rate Anthropic had at the end of 2025.
That growth is why a $1 trillion Anthropic IPO no longer sounds particularly crazy.
In fact, Reuters recently reported that Anthropic is projecting $190 billion to $200 billion of revenue in 2028. If investors are willing to pay a 20X revenue multiple on that future revenue, the implied valuation would be approximately $4 trillion.
I think Anthropic could IPO at approximately $2 trillion before the end of 2026, reach $3 trillion by the end of 2027, and potentially reach $5 trillion by the end of 2028.
That is obviously a bullish forecast. It is also the reason I think investors should start thinking about Anthropic exposure before the IPO rather than after the IPO mania begins.
Four Ways To Own Anthropic
There are several publicly traded ways to get indirect exposure to Anthropic.
Amazon (AMZN)
The tech giant has invested at least $13 billion in Anthropic, including $8 billion previously invested and another $5 billion announced in 2026, with the potential for another $20 billion investment. Amazon also has an enormous strategic relationship with Anthropic through AWS, including Claude’s distribution through Amazon Bedrock and Anthropic’s use of Amazon’s Trainium chips.
Estimates based on Amazon’s filings suggest its Anthropic position could represent somewhere in the mid-to-high teens of Anthropic’s equity, although the exact ownership percentage has not been publicly disclosed. At a $2 trillion Anthropic valuation, the stake could potentially be worth hundreds of billions of dollars.
The problem is that Amazon is a roughly $2.8 trillion company. Even a $400 billion Anthropic stake would represent only about 14% of Amazon’s market capitalization.
In other words, you’re buying a tremendous business and getting Anthropic exposure as a valuable bonus.
SK Telecom (SKM)
SKM invested $100 million in Anthropic in 2023 and owns a much smaller percentage of Anthropic after subsequent dilution. Estimates vary significantly, but recent research has put the stake around 0.3% to 0.6%.
Because SKM’s market capitalization is only around $11 billion to $15 billion, however, its Anthropic stake can represent a much larger percentage of the company’s overall value. That makes SKM a potentially powerful Anthropic proxy, but you’re also buying a Korean telecommunications company with its own operating, currency, governance, and valuation risks.
DXYZ, Destiny Tech100
DXYZ owns Anthropic along with SpaceX, OpenAI, and numerous other private technology companies. As of December 31, 2025, its three largest positions were Anthropic, SpaceX, and OpenAI, collectively representing more than 37% of net assets. DXYZ subsequently invested another $100 million into an Anthropic SPV in January 2026.
Why I Prefer VCX For Anthropic
VCX gives investors something that is difficult to replicate: a concentrated basket of some of the most important private AI companies in the world, with meaningful Anthropic exposure, inside a publicly traded security.
The Fundrise Innovation Fund listed on the NYSE under the ticker VCX in March 2026. Its portfolio has historically been heavily concentrated in Anthropic, OpenAI, Databricks and Anduril. An SEC filing showed Anthropic at approximately 21% of the fund as of February 15, 2026, before subsequent appreciation in Anthropic.
Based on subsequent valuation changes, I estimate Anthropic now represents roughly 30% of VCX’s economic exposure, depending on the NAV date and valuation marks.
That concentration is exactly what I like. Meanwhile, about 32% of DXYZ is in cash and 13% of the fund is in SpaceX, which is publicly traded already. Therefore, there’s no need to pay a fee to own SpaceX.
VCX Has Diversified Exposure Into AI
If you want Anthropic exposure, why buy a giant company where Anthropic represents only a few percent of the value?
And if you buy a dedicated Anthropic proxy, why take on all of the concentration risk?
VCX sits somewhere in the middle.
You get substantial Anthropic exposure while simultaneously owning OpenAI, Databricks, Anduril, SpaceX, Ramp, Vanta, Canva, dbt Labs and other private growth companies.
As I wrote previously, roughly half of VCX has been concentrated in just Anthropic, OpenAI and Databricks. That creates concentration risk, but it also creates the potential for meaningful upside if these companies become the dominant technology platforms of the next decade.
And importantly, VCX has been investing in this ecosystem for years.
I began investing in Fundrise’s venture product in 2023, well before Anthropic became a household name. My thesis was simple: if artificial intelligence dramatically changes the economy, I wanted meaningful exposure to the companies building the technology rather than simply owning the companies that might eventually use it.
That thesis has worked extraordinarily well so far. Here is a detailed comparison between VCX vs DXYZ.
The Anthropic Math Gets Interesting
At the VCX listing NAV of approximately $19, Anthropic represented roughly 20.7% of the fund, or about $3.93 of NAV per share.
When Anthropic’s valuation reached $965 billion, I calculated that the original Anthropic position had effectively become worth approximately $10.11 per VCX share after adjusting for dilution.
That’s remarkable.
Anthropic alone was worth more than half of the entire VCX fund’s original NAV.
And that’s before the IPO.
In my previous VCX NAV analysis, I modeled what happens if Anthropic reaches $2 trillion and $3 trillion. Under my blue-sky scenario, Anthropic alone could eventually contribute more than $50 per VCX share at a $5 trillion valuation, before considering the appreciation of the rest of the portfolio.
This is why I think the Anthropic IPO could become such an important catalyst for VCX. Because names like OpenAI, Databricks, and Anduril continue to grow as well.
The Anthropic IPO itself does not need to be the end of the story.
It could simply be the moment when the public market finally gets a transparent price on one of VCX’s largest assets.
The Biggest Risk: Paying Too Much
There is an important distinction between owning Anthropic and paying too much for Anthropic exposure.
If VCX trades at a huge premium to NAV, some of the upside may already be priced in.
That’s why I continue to focus on NAV rather than simply watching the VCX stock price.
Below are my VCX NAV estimates for 2026, 2027, and 208 based on various Anthropic market capitalization levels. Again, this is only estimating the NAV, and not assuming any premium.
However, based on history, VCX has traded at significant 1,000 – 2,000% premiums as retail investors try to gain more exposure to VCX’s holdings. Therefore, the X factor is whether that retail mania will return. If it does, VCX could trade much higher than my NAV estimates below.
There is also no guarantee Anthropic will IPO at $2 trillion.
It could IPO at $1 trillion, $1.5 trillion, or $2 trillion. It could also surprise everyone and debut above $2 trillion.
The market will ultimately decide.
My Anthropic Investment Strategy
If you simply want exposure to Anthropic and don’t mind owning a massive company like Amazon, Amazon is probably the simplest choice.
If you want a much purer Anthropic proxy and are comfortable with Korean telecom and governance risk, SKM is intriguing.
But if you want my preferred combination of Anthropic + OpenAI + Databricks + Anduril + other private AI and technology winners, I think VCX is the most compelling option. VCX is an investment in the overall AI space, which is growing rapidly.
That’s especially true if VCX can be purchased at or near NAV rather than at an excessive premium.
I don’t know whether my $2 trillion Anthropic IPO forecast will be correct. I could be completely wrong.
But after watching Anthropic rise from a roughly $350 billion valuation to $965 billion in only a few months, I have learned not to underestimate what can happen when revenue growth, artificial intelligence, enormous capital investment and investor enthusiasm collide.
My base case is that Anthropic IPOs around $2 trillion before year-end 2026, reaches $3 trillion by the end of 2027, and potentially $5 trillion by the end of 2028.
If that happens, the demand for Anthropic shares will be high, and you will likely not be able to get a large allocation. Therefore, I’m building my Anthropic exposure through vehicles like VCX before frenzy for shares begins.
Disclaimer: I own VCX and have invested in Fundrise’s venture products. Fundrise is also a long-time sponsor of Financial Samurai. This article represents my personal opinions and is not investment advice. Private-company valuations can change dramatically, and VCX can trade at substantial premiums or discounts to NAV. Please do your own research before investing.
About the author
Sam started Financial Samurai in 2009 to help make sense of financial chaos. With an MBA from UC Berkeley and 13 years working in equities at Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse, he watched the IPO allocation process from the inside from 1999 to 2012 before retiring at 34. He is the bestselling author of Millionaire Milestones: Simple Steps To Seven Figures and Buy This Not That, both with Portfolio Penguin Random House, with a third book, Your Children Will Be OK, on the way.
Join 60,000+ others and sign up for his free weekly newsletter so you never miss a thing.