According to an informed source, artificial intelligence (AI) startup Anthropic is advancing a transaction that would permit certain employees to sell their shares based on a company valuation of at least $3.5 trillion. This initiative is progressing concurrently with a funding round that could potentially secure over $200 billion for the company. The proposed share sale would enable Anthropic staff to liquidate a portion of their equity in one of the world's most highly valued AI startups.

The source indicated that the $3.5 trillion valuation aligns with the figures being discussed in the company's current funding round and represents a pre-money valuation, excluding the capital to be raised in this round. Specific details of the equity sale have not yet been finalized, the person added.

Presently, investors are gathering the capital required for the secondary transaction, with the final scale of the deal dependent on how many shares eligible current and former employees are willing to sell. The valuation used for the share sale may also be adjusted as Anthropic's current funding round progresses and the company's overall valuation shifts.

Within the fiercely competitive landscape of AI talent recruitment, secondary share sales are becoming an increasingly common method for startups to provide liquidity for employees, particularly as a growing number of large private companies opt to remain unlisted for longer periods. Both Stripe and SpaceX have conducted similar transactions on multiple occasions.

OpenAI, Anthropic's primary rival, also frequently organizes share sales, including a $66 billion secondary market transaction completed last October that valued the company at $5 trillion. Both OpenAI and SpaceX have recently taken steps toward pursuing an initial public offering (IPO).