Anthropic, the AI company that makes Claude, filed to go public on October 26 and has applied to list on Nasdaq under the symbol "ANT," its SEC filing shows. The share price and date aren't set. Until the shares trade, any offer to sell you Anthropic "pre-IPO" shares, a stake in a fund that holds them, or a crypto token tied to them deserves deep suspicion. Anthropic has said transfers of its shares into such vehicles are void, and US regulators warn that pre-IPO offers are a common scam.

Key facts

  • Who: Anthropic, PBC, an AI company, and anyone offering its shares before they trade
  • What: Filed a registration statement (Form S-1) to list Class A shares on the Nasdaq Global Select Market as "ANT"; price range not yet set
  • When: S-1 filed October 26, 2026
  • Warning: Anthropic said in May 2026 that transfers of its shares to special purpose vehicles are void under its transfer restrictions, a warning that hit tokens sold as indirect exposure
  • Source: Anthropic Form S-1, SEC

The pitch usually arrives before the company does. Anthropic, the AI company that makes Claude, filed with the SEC on October 26 to sell shares to the public, and it has "applied to list our Class A common stock on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol 'ANT.'" The filing leaves the price blank. No date is set. Offers to get in early are already easy to find.

Why a "pre-IPO" offer is risky

Before a company lists, its shares are private. They usually change hands only with the company's approval, and many companies limit who can buy. That's why most "pre-IPO" offers aimed at ordinary investors don't sell the shares themselves. They sell something wrapped around them: a stake in a fund or special purpose vehicle (SPV) that says it holds shares, a forward contract promising shares later, or, in crypto, a token said to track them.

Anthropic addressed those wrappers in May. It said it doesn't permit SPVs to acquire its stock and that "any transfer of shares to an SPV are void under our transfer restrictions," CoinDesk reported. Tokens on Solana that were sold as indirect exposure to Anthropic and OpenAI shares fell sharply after the warnings. OpenAI warned that unauthorized transfers could break US securities laws.

The red flags regulators list

The SEC and FINRA have warned about pre-IPO fraud for years. Their alerts say some sellers don't own the shares they're selling, and investors can lose everything. The usual signs:

  • A "limited allocation" or a few shares "set aside" just for you.
  • A price below where the IPO "will" open, and pressure to decide fast.
  • A seller who isn't registered. Check any broker or adviser on the SEC's free search at investor.gov or FINRA BrokerCheck before you send anything.
  • Payment in crypto or by wire to a person or a new company, with no documents from the company whose shares you're "buying."
  • A token or a fund "unit" instead of shares in your own name.

When the shares do trade

Once a listed company's shares start trading, any regular brokerage can show you them under the real symbol. Nobody needs to sell you a side door. If someone you met online, in a group chat or on social media brings up early access to a famous IPO, that's the signal to stop. Our due diligence checklist covers the questions to ask, and if you've already paid, here's how to report it.

Sources: Anthropic, PBC, Form S-1 registration statement filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (October 26, 2026), CoinDesk, Anthropic, OpenAI tokens plunge as AI firms say pre-IPO share transfers are invalid (May 13, 2026), US Securities and Exchange Commission, Investor Alert: Pre-IPO Investment Scams (updated).