Retail investors chase Anthropic IPO access despite AI slowdown calls

September 21, 2026 at 03:30 PM2 min

This digest was compiled by AI from multiple sources — links to the originals are below.

Retail investors are seeking exposure to Anthropic's upcoming IPO through brokerages and high-fee funds. Brian Smith, a 66-year-old California retiree, has spread money across eight brokerages and may request shares worth about 30% of his net worth. The push comes even as AI industry leaders call for a pause in developing powerful models.

Key Facts

Brian Smith, 66, spread money across eight brokerages and may request shares worth about 30% of his net worth in Anthropic's IPO.
Smith also put $7,000 into two high-fee funds claiming early access to private shares of Anthropic and OpenAI.
Craig Stephens, founder of Access IPOs, said his audience grew by 30% around the SpaceX IPO.
Anthropic is expected to sell shares in the coming weeks, and OpenAI has talked about doing its own offering next year.
Smith previously had over $300,000 in a closed-end fund promising access to private shares before the SpaceX IPO, but made only around $43,000 after lockups and technical problems.

Retail Investor Demand

Brian Smith, a 66-year-old California retiree, has spread money across eight brokerages to get exposure to Anthropic's stock ahead of its IPO. He may request hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of shares, about 30% of his net worth, which he hopes to sell as soon as they begin trading. Smith has also put $7,000 into two high-fee, difficult-to-trade funds that claim early access to private shares of both Anthropic and OpenAI. Craig Stephens, founder of retail investing site Access IPOs, said his audience grew by 30% around the SpaceX IPO. Many retail investors have stuck around as Anthropic and OpenAI head toward the public markets.

SpaceX IPO Lessons

Smith had what appeared at one point to be more than $300,000 in a closed-end fund that promised access to private company shares before the SpaceX IPO. Because of lockups and technical problems, by the time he was able to sell his stake in the fund, he only made around $43,000. The potential riches from the Anthropic and OpenAI IPOs make those frustrations fade into the background for Smith. "I know it's risky and some people might think it's crazy," said Smith. "It seems like it's a once in a long time opportunity, and the chance of losing money on an Anthropic IPO is very low."

AI Slowdown Calls

The push by retail investors is unfolding even as some of the industry's most prominent figures are calling for a pause in the development of increasingly powerful AI models. Anthropic is expected to sell shares in the coming weeks, and OpenAI has talked about doing its own offering next year. Retail investors' experiences are providing a crash course in what can happen when investments once largely reserved for venture firms, asset managers and the super wealthy are packaged for a broader audience. There are enormous gains for some individual investors, but also lockups, volatile fund prices, opaque ownership structures and confusion over what investors actually own.