Key Takeaways
- • Anthropic's secondary market valuation has surged to approximately $1 trillion on Forge Global, nearly tripling from its $380 billion Series G funding round closed in February 2026—a three-month appreciation of roughly 163%.
- • Anthropic has overtaken OpenAI in secondary market valuation, trading at $1 trillion compared to OpenAI's $880 billion on the same Forge Global platform, marking a significant shift in perceived market leadership within the AI sector.
- • Revenue growth acceleration is fueling valuation momentum, with Anthropic's annualized run rate jumping from approximately $9 billion at end-2025 to $30 billion by March 2026—a 233% quarterly increase driven by enterprise adoption of Claude Code and API products.
- • Supply-side constraints are intensifying price pressure, with shareholder interest in Anthropic spiking 650% over the past 12 months while employees and early investors have had minimal opportunities to liquidate holdings, creating artificial scarcity dynamics on secondary markets.
- • Buyers are demonstrating unprecedented desperation for exposure, with individual shareholders listing shares at $1.15 trillion valuations and major growth funds offering to purchase at $1.05 trillion, while some investors have offered real estate holdings as alternative payment for equity positions.
Summary
The valuation appreciation has been extraordinary by any standard. In February 2026, Anthropic closed a Series G funding round led by GIC and Coatue at a post-money valuation of $380 billion. Secondary market pricing now reflects a nearly threefold markup to that institutional round, a velocity of appreciation unusual even within the AI sector's elevated valuations. This disconnect between the most recent institutional funding round and current secondary market prices underscores the intensity of investor demand for exposure to the company.
Revenue acceleration has provided fundamental support for the valuation surge. Anthropic's annualized run rate accelerated to $30 billion by March 2026, up from approximately $9 billion at the end of 2025—a 233% quarterly increase. This growth trajectory has been driven largely by enterprise adoption of Claude Code and the company's API products, bolstered by Amazon's recent commitment of up to $25 billion in additional investment. Caplight's private-market tracking data shows that investor interest in Anthropic shares has spiked 650% over the past 12 months.
The secondary market dynamics reveal critical supply-side constraints amplifying price discovery. With Anthropic employees and early investors having had minimal opportunities to liquidate positions, the combination of surging demand and limited supply has created a severe pricing dislocation. According to Glen Anderson of Rainmaker Securities, valuations that would have been deemed "unthinkable" a month earlier—such as $960 billion—are being absorbed within hours by competing buyers. Individual shareholders are listing shares at valuations exceeding $1.15 trillion, while major growth funds have publicly offered to purchase at $1.05 trillion levels. These fringe offers, which would typically signal market inefficiency, are being met with actual buyer interest, including instances where investors have offered real estate holdings as payment for equity positions. This secondary market fervor contrasts sharply with OpenAI's market position, where traders report slumping demand and valuations trading at discounts to their most recent funding rounds.
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