Anthropic’s valuation has surged to $1.2 trillion on secondary markets, marking a 550 percent year-over-year increase and solidifying its position as the most sought-after asset in private equity. This milestone follows a $965 billion Series H funding round in May and recent SEC filings indicating an initial public offering within the coming months. Despite the astronomical pricing, actual transactions remain exceedingly rare due to severe supply constraints. Secondary market executives note that demand for Anthropic stock vastly outpaces available shares, with few founders or early employees willing to liquidate positions ahead of the anticipated public debut. Javier Avalos, CEO of Caplight, described the current environment as unprecedented in venture secondary trading. Glen Anderson of Rainmaker Securities confirmed that deals frequently stall because capital availability exceeds the handful of listings. This scarcity has fueled investor desperation, with some offering substantial personal assets, including real estate, in exchange for equity stakes. To circumvent the shortage, investors have increasingly turned to special-purpose vehicles, which pool capital for single-ticket acquisitions. However, these structures often carry exorbitant fees and have drawn sharp criticism from Anthropic itself. The company has explicitly warned against unauthorized sales and unverified investment channels, advising participants to assume any indirect offerings are invalid. Market professionals have adapted by restricting trades to transparent structures where seller identities are verified, aiming to avoid regulatory invalidation or fraud. While Anthropic dominates secondary market activity, rival OpenAI has recently regained momentum, driven by the public release of its GPT-5.6 model series, including the flagship Sol and the budget-friendly Terra variants. Although investor interest in Anthropic still outpaces OpenAI by a ratio of five to two, trading volumes for OpenAI shares have noticeably accelerated. Early backers like Matt Murphy of Menlo Ventures acknowledge the secondary market pricing as a noisy indicator but concede that the company’s explosive revenue growth prior to its SEC quiet period justifies the intense speculative demand. As both AI giants approach the public markets, secondary valuations reflect broader institutional confidence in generative AI infrastructure. The impending listings will likely recalibrate pricing mechanisms, though the current liquidity crunch suggests that public market liquidity may take time to fully materialize for participants navigating this unprecedented capital environment.