Anthropic warns investors against unauthorized share trading platforms

As demand for AI company shares reaches fever pitch, Anthropic is cracking down on unauthorized trading platforms. The company behind the Claude AI assistant updated its website this week to warn investors that multiple platforms claiming to offer access to its shares are not actually allowed to do so.

The move highlights growing concerns about fraudulent investment schemes targeting hot AI companies. With Anthropic reportedly raising funds at a $900 billion valuation, investors are scrambling for exposure to the company through secondary markets – creating opportunities for both legitimate and questionable platforms.

Anthropic specifically named eight companies that are not authorized to provide access to buy or sell its shares:

• Open Doors Partners
• Unicorns Exchange
• Pachamama Capital
• Lionheart Ventures
• Hiive (new offerings)
• Forge Global (new offerings)
• Sydecar
• Upmarket

“Any sale or transfer of Anthropic stock, or any interest in Anthropic stock, offered by these firms is void and will not be recognized on our books and records,” the company’s support page states.

Some platforms pushed back against their inclusion. Forge Global claims it was listed by mistake. “We are working with Anthropic to remove Forge’s name from this alert,” the platform said. “Forge does not facilitate transactions in any private company’s shares without the explicit approval of the company.”

Sydecar said it only provides administrative services and requires sponsors to confirm they have proper approvals before facilitating any transactions. Hiive emphasized that all share transfers it facilitates are approved by the issuer.

The warning comes as secondary market activity around AI companies has exploded. Some brokers told TechCrunch that Anthropic is one of the “hardest” stocks to source on secondary markets, driving up demand for alternative investment vehicles.

These platforms typically offer exposure through several methods:

• Secondary markets where existing shareholders sell their stakes
• Special purpose vehicles (SPVs) that pool investor money to buy shares
• “Tokenized” securities that represent fractional ownership
• Derivative products like pre-IPO futures contracts

Some crypto exchanges have also jumped into the space. OKX now offers pre-IPO perpetual futures contracts that track private company valuations without providing actual ownership stakes.

Anthropic says both its preferred and common stock have transfer restrictions. Any share sale not approved by its board of directors is considered invalid. The company is particularly strict about SPVs, stating that any transfer of shares to these investment vehicles is void under its transfer restrictions.

“We do not permit special purpose vehicles (SPVs) to acquire Anthropic stock and any transfer of shares to an SPV are void under our transfer restrictions,” the company states. “Offers to invest in Anthropic’s past or future financing rounds through an SPV are prohibited.”

The crackdown reflects broader concerns about investment fraud targeting AI companies. As these companies remain private longer and grow to massive valuations, retail investors are increasingly turning to secondary markets for exposure – creating opportunities for both legitimate platforms and potential scams.