Anthropic identified eight companies that were illegally selling its shares. Following the negative response, it discreetly withdrew four of them.

      TL;DR: Anthropic reduced its list of unauthorized share platforms from eight to four after creating panic among investors. It raised $65 billion at a valuation of $965 billion that same week.

      Anthropic revised its warning regarding unauthorized secondary market platforms selling its shares, decreasing the list from eight firms to four. The updated version includes only Open Door Partners, Unicorns Exchange, Pachamama, and Upmarket, removing several major players in private market trading, such as Hiive.

      The initial notice, released earlier this month, indicated that any sale or transfer of Anthropic stock by the listed platforms would be void and not recognized on the company's records, affecting both preferred and common stock. This was the first instance where a prominent AI company publicly identified specific platforms as unauthorized.

      The backlash was significant. Publicly traded funds promoting exposure to Anthropic shares saw declines, while private brokers hurried to reassess their positions. Investors who had acquired Anthropic stock through the mentioned platforms were left uncertain about the legality of their shares.

      Sim Desai, CEO of Hiive, publicly criticized the situation on LinkedIn, stating that his platform does not facilitate share transfers “without the company’s approval.” After Hiive’s exclusion from the list, Desai expressed that the original announcement had caused confusion among investors and harmed his company’s reputation.

      “Had Anthropic approached us before their aggressive new stance and corresponding public statements (which they did not), we would have gladly worked with them to deliver a unified message to the market,” Desai noted, highlighting that Anthropic named platforms without pre-contact.

      Anthropic and OpenAI have both included transfer restrictions within their shareholder agreements for some time, but buyers eager for exposure to pre-IPO AI firms often overlooked this fine print. By publicly naming specific platforms, Anthropic shifted boilerplate legal language into a significant market event.

      Anthropic shares were already trading at an implied $1 trillion on secondary markets in April, fueled by revenue growth from $9 billion to $30 billion ARR within a quarter. The demand for Anthropic stock was so fierce that sellers were suggesting prices with implied valuations of $1.15 trillion. The unauthorized platform warning impacted a market already experiencing overheating.

      The timing of the reversal is noteworthy. On Thursday, Anthropic announced a $65 billion funding round, valuing the company at $965 billion, which outstrips rival OpenAI for the first time. The company is simultaneously securing the largest private funding round in history and managing disputes over who may sell its shares.

      The $965 billion valuation indicates a remarkable trajectory, as Anthropic closed its Series G at $380 billion in February. Just three months later, secondary markets valued it at $1 trillion. The primary round valuation of $965 billion bridges these two figures, affirming the secondary market pricing that the unauthorized platform warning aimed to inhibit.

      The contradiction lies in the structure. Anthropic requires secondary market liquidity to attract and retain employees whose compensation involves equity, while also needing to regulate who trades its shares to uphold governance, adhere to securities regulations, and manage its capitalization table ahead of a potential IPO. The original warning overreached on control, resulting in collateral damage to legitimate platforms.

      Anthropic is reportedly in early IPO discussions with Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, and Morgan Stanley, with a possible listing as early as October. Effective management of the secondary market is essential for a successful public offering, but naming and shaming platforms without prior communication, then quietly retracting half the list following backlash, does not reflect a company with a well-controlled pre-IPO communication strategy.

      Anthropic did not respond to Bloomberg’s request for comment. The four platforms that remain on the list—Open Door Partners, Unicorns Exchange, Pachamama, and Upmarket—have not publicly addressed the situation. Investors who acquired shares through the removed platforms now have clarity, while those who purchased through the four remaining platforms do not.