Anthropic Voids Unauthorized Share Sales as AI Secondary Deals Charge 15% Fees
Updated
Updated · The New Yorker · May 20
Anthropic Voids Unauthorized Share Sales as AI Secondary Deals Charge 15% Fees
1 articles · Updated · The New Yorker · May 20
Anthropic updated its anti-scam guidance on May 11 to say any sale of its shares without proper board approval is invalid, tightening control over a fast-growing gray market in its stock.
15%-plus broker and setup fees have become common in AI secondary deals, investors said, as middlemen stack multiple special-purpose vehicles that can leave buyers several layers removed from the underlying shares.
Anthropic’s valuation jump to $380 billion in February and more than doubling within three months has fueled demand, especially from outsiders shut out of direct access and drawn by lower minimum buy-ins as small as $5,000.
That frenzy now extends beyond clean employee-share transfers into opaque, retail-like speculation around private AI leaders such as Anthropic and OpenAI, raising the risk that late investors could be left holding overpriced stakes.
With private AI valuations hitting $1 trillion, is this a dot-com-style bubble or a new economic reality?
AI giants are banning share sales. Is this to protect investors or trap employee wealth before an IPO?
As regulators circle a 'casino economy' of AI stocks, who will ultimately be left holding the bag?
Anthropic’s $1 Trillion Share Crackdown: Secondary Market Investors Face Massive Losses After May 2026 Directive
Overview
In May 2026, Anthropic issued a major directive declaring all unauthorized stock sales void, directly targeting the booming and often unregulated secondary markets for private company shares. This move responds to the rapid growth of shadow stock markets, where family offices, wealthy investors, and retail buyers used mechanisms like Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) to access AI company shares without company approval. By voiding these transfers, Anthropic aims to regain control over its equity, protect its cap table, and address the risks created by complex, layered investment structures that made it hard to verify legitimate ownership.