Is Anthropic stock worth more than $1 trillion? Buyers think so

When tech founder Jesse Leimgruber hinted on X that he might sell his Anthropic shares, he received hundreds of responses within minutes wire-ready cash offers, unsolicited bank account screenshots, proof-of-funds letters, and at least one job offer. Not a real job.

A general partner title at a VC firm, offered exclusively in exchange for his shares.

Why Anthropic stock has become silicon valley's most wanted asset?

Anthropic's revenue growth has been exceptional enough that investors are abandoning any semblance of conventional deal etiquette.

Momentum around Claude Code, the company's AI-powered coding assistant, has accelerated interest further, as has a wave of public goodwill following Anthropic's dispute with the Pentagon.

The result is a secondary market under extreme pressure. Since Anthropic has not gone public, buyers are forced to source shares from former employees, early investors, or founders who received equity through indirect routes. Few are selling, and those who are can name almost any terms.

Leimgruber eventually built a CRM system just to manage the volume of inbound interest. Among the offers, investors requesting to purchase his stake at valuations exceeding $1 trillion for the company, and a large VC firm that offered him a general partner position contingent entirely on receiving his shares.

"They had no intention of making me a partner on their fund had it not been for the pledging of my Anthropic shares," he said. One banker separately dangled his $4.8 million Marin County estate hoping to coax early employees into parting with a small slice of stock.

Glen Anderson, CEO of Rainmaker Securities a merchant bank specialising in private securities described the situation plainly "The problem is there are no sellers. There's an imbalance in the market."

Bradley Horowitz, a general partner at early Anthropic investor Wisdom Ventures, confirmed his firm receives daily approaches. "People are trying all kinds of shenanigans," he said, adding that he has no intention of selling.

Anthropic itself warns against unauthorised stock sales and scams on its website and declined to comment for this story. Many secondary market deals have reportedly come with high fees and unusually complex ownership structures.

Leimgruber's situation is unusual. He acquired his Anthropic stake through the FTX bankruptcy in 2024, when the company was valued at $18 billion. Today, that investment has grown roughly 5,400% in two years, a return he openly admits he never anticipated.