Run for it, Charlie: Anthropic stock has become Silicon Valley's golden ticket

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Owning Anthropic stock is like finding Willy Wonka's Golden Ticket. Everyone wants it. Nobody's giving it up.

As Charlie is mobbed by the crowd, the newspaper vendor shouts: "Run for it, Charlie! Run straight home, and don't stop 'til you get there!"

Judging by the secondary market, that's precisely what Anthropic shareholders are doing.

Anthropic has soared to a $1.2 trillion valuation on secondary markets, but nobody wants to sell.

Some can't even be tempted by this $5.99 million Brooklyn home.

One broker told BI that if he could satisfy everyone trying to buy, "I'd be on a beach right now."

With Anthropic yet to go public, most investors have little choice but to hunt for shares on the secondary market, buying from employees and early backers.

Where demand runs this hot, dubious deals inevitably follow.

Anthropic has been explicit: If someone offers you a way to invest indirectly, "assume that it is invalid."

Still, plenty of investors are willing to chance it rather than miss what they see as the opportunity of a lifetime.

BI's Ben Bergman dug into the frenzy, spoke to the brokers trying to get deals across the line, and found a private market that's beginning to resemble a modern-day gold rush.

There's one more twist: While Anthropic remains the hottest ticket in town, OpenAI is quietly making a comeback ahead of the public rollout of its most advanced AI model.