India's ultra-rich are coveting shares in Anthropic's upcoming mega initial public offering (IPO), as the superhit IPO of SpaceX in June and a shortage of domestic artificial intelligence (AI) offerings add to the allure of American AI giant.
Wealth managers are fielding inquiries from technology founders, family offices, and business executives across the country, after the maker of Claude filed papers for its IPO last week. However, stock availability is scarce in private markets, and access for anyone outside major American and European markets is expected to be extremely limited, they said on condition of anonymity.
"Quite a few of our clients have enquired more than once over the last week about investment opportunities in Anthropic. But getting them those shares is easier said than done at this point," a Mumbai-based wealth manager for ultra-high-networth individuals said.
Anthropic represents a compelling opportunity at the intersection of AI and enterprise technology, and a certain fear-of-missing-out factor around such a marquee listing is inevitable among HNIs, said Prakash Bulusu, joint chief executive at IIFL Capital. While tech entrepreneurs, globally oriented family offices and younger-generation business leaders are natural early adopters of global AI investments, "Traditional business families are also exploring the theme, viewing AI as a long-term portfolio opportunity," he said.
SpaceX made a historic stock market debut in June, surging over 30.8% on Day One, before closing 19% above its offer price. The blockbuster IPO made its founder Elon Musk the world's first dollar trillionaire, as his net worth briefly crossed the $1 trillion milestone. After scaling 67% above IPO price, the stock has since seen a volatile pullback, closing just below its IPO price of $135 a share on Friday.