Author：Wall Street CN

Artificial intelligence startup Anthropic is launching an employee stock sale program that allows current and former employees to cash out at the valuation level of the company's latest funding round.

On February 24, according to Bloomberg and tech media outlet The Information, sources familiar with the matter revealed that...Anthropic has allocated between $5 billion and $6 billion for this share sale, with the final amount depending on the number of shares eligible employees choose to sell.The transaction price will be based on the company's valuation of approximately $350 billion, similar to the valuation in Anthropic's $30 billion funding round earlier this month.

According to reports,This deal will involve external investors, rather than Anthropic itself, purchasing shares held by insiders.With AI companies generally choosing to extend their privatization period, secondary market share sales have become an important way for startups to allow employees to benefit from valuation growth without making acquisitions or IPOs.

This is after OpenAI,This case of another top AI company using secondary market transactions to provide liquidity for its employees highlights the trend of large startups retaining talent by monetizing equity in the fierce competition for AI talent.

Transaction Details: Valuation and Eligibility

According to Bloomberg, the share sale values the company at approximately $350 billion, consistent with the level of Anthropic's funding round completed earlier this month. Sources familiar with the matter revealed that the funding round valued the company at $380 billion post-funding, including cash injections from investors.

The deal involves current and former employees who have worked at Anthropic for at least 12 months. Sources familiar with the matter indicated...Although the company has allocated $5 billion to $6 billion for the purchase, the actual transaction size will depend on the willingness of eligible employees to participate and the number of units sold.

The report states that the details of the deal have not yet been finalized and are still subject to change.

Anthropic announced earlier this month that it had completed a $30 billion funding round, led by Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC and Coatue, with D.E. Shaw Ventures, Dragoneer, Founders Fund, Iconiq, and MGX as co-leads.

A new tool in the AI talent war

Secondary market share sales are becoming a key tool for tech startups to cope with fierce competition for talent, especially in the AI field. As more large startups choose to extend their privatization period, employee equity monetization channels are becoming increasingly important.

Besides Anthropic, companies like Stripe and SpaceX have also allowed employees to sell stock. OpenAI has been particularly active in this regard, having conducted multiple employee stock sales, including a $6.6 billion secondary market transaction last year at a $500 billion valuation.

This approach enables employees to actually benefit from valuation growth even when the company is not publicly listed or acquired, helping startups remain attractive in the highly competitive AI talent market.

It is worth noting that Anthropic, OpenAI, and SpaceX have all recently taken steps to prepare for their initial public offerings.