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

      Anthropic has reduced its warning regarding unauthorized secondary market platforms selling its shares from eight to four, following investor panic. In the same week, it raised $65 billion at a valuation of $965 billion.

      The updated warning now only includes Open Door Partners, Unicorns Exchange, Pachamama, and Upmarket, having removed several well-known private trading firms, including Hiive. The initial notice, issued earlier this month, declared that any sales or transfers of Anthropic stock by the mentioned platforms would be void and not acknowledged by the company. This warning encompassed both preferred and common shares and marked the first instance of a major AI firm specifically naming unauthorized platforms.

      This announcement caused turmoil, leading to declines in publicly traded funds that offered exposure to Anthropic shares. Private brokers hurried to reevaluate their positions, and investors who purchased stock through the listed platforms were left uncertain about the legitimacy of their shares.

      Hiive's CEO, Sim Desai, publicly rebutted the claims on LinkedIn, asserting that his platform does not allow share transfers “without the company’s approval.” After Hiive was taken off the list, Desai expressed that the original notice had confused investors and harmed his company's reputation. He stated, “Had Anthropic approached us before their aggressive stance and subsequent public statements (which they did not), we would have gladly collaborated with them to provide a unified message to the market.” His critique highlighted that Anthropic had named platforms without prior communication.

      Both Anthropic and OpenAI have long included transfer restrictions in their shareholder agreements, which had largely been overlooked by purchasers eager to invest in pre-IPO AI firms. By publicly naming specific platforms, Anthropic transformed standard legal language into a catalyst for market fluctuations.

      In April, Anthropic shares were already being traded at an implied valuation of $1 trillion in secondary markets, propelled by revenue growth from $9 billion to $30 billion ARR in a single quarter. The demand for Anthropic stock was so high that sellers were quoting prices reflecting valuations up to $1.15 trillion. The warning about unauthorized platforms struck a market that was already overheated.

      The timing of the retraction is significant. On Thursday, Anthropic revealed a $65 billion funding round that valued the company at $965 billion, surpassing rival OpenAI for the first time. The company is engaged in raising the largest private funding round in history while navigating who is allowed to sell its shares.

      The $965 billion valuation illustrates a remarkable growth trajectory, as Anthropic's Series G closed at $380 billion in February. Just three months later, secondary markets had priced it at $1 trillion, with the current primary round valuation at $965 billion bridging those two figures and reinforcing the secondary market pricing that the unauthorized platform warning sought to diminish.

      This situation presents a structural contradiction. Anthropic requires secondary market liquidity to attract and retain employees who receive equity as part of their compensation. Simultaneously, it needs to regulate who trades its shares to maintain governance, adhere to securities regulations, and manage its cap table ahead of a potential IPO. The initial warning went too far in asserting control and inadvertently harmed legitimate platforms.

      Anthropic is in preliminary IPO discussions with Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, and Morgan Stanley, considering a listing as early as October. Effectively managing the secondary market is essential for a successful public offering. However, publicly shaming platforms without prior contact and later quietly reducing the list after backlash indicates that the company may not have its pre-IPO communications strategy fully under control.

      Anthropic did not provide a comment when approached by Bloomberg. The four platforms that remain on the list—Open Door Partners, Unicorns Exchange, Pachamama, and Upmarket—have also not publicly commented. Investors who acquired shares through the removed platforms now have clarity, while those who bought from the remaining four do not.