The secondaries market offers a window into the most-watched-IPO horse race, perhaps ever, between OpenAI and Anthropic.<\/p>\n
Now, the vibe, shall we say, for a while has been that OpenAI is falling behind Anthropic. Across the secondaries market, that\u2019s certainly how prospective buyers seem to feel: demand for Anthropic shares is far exceeding the demand for OpenAI shares, pre-IPO market sources have been telling me. And though there\u2019s a sense Anthropic fever has escalated in recent months (including the demand explosion around the company\u2019s mammoth $65 billion fundraise<\/a>), Anthropic shares have been the most prized for some time.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAnthropic has been the most in-demand name in the secondary market for about a year,\u201d Javier Avalos, CEO at private markets platform Caplight, wrote to Fortune, adding that he\u2019s seen about $1.5 billion interest in Anthropic since the beginning of Q2 2026.\u00a0<\/p>\n The demand for Anthropic shares back in May was described to me as \u201ca pressure cooker ready to explode,\u201d and in the aftermath, the company\u2019s running a tight ship when it comes to who it allows to buy its shares on the secondary market.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIn the secondary space, Anthropic really tightened its process around letting people into its cap table,\u201d said Clara Vydyanath, general partner, Underline Capital. \u201cA lot of cap-table GPs have warehoused positions\u2026 and they\u2019re now piecemeal-selling blocks worth $20 million, $50 million, $100 million at a time.\u201d<\/p>\n Currently, Avalos said, Anthropic\u2019s valuation is in the $1.4 trillion ballpark, up more than 400% year-over-year, according to Caplight data. This aligns with what Vydyanath is seeing. And if you don\u2019t have millions to deploy, you\u2019re probably not getting into Anthropic.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI think below $25 million is difficult,\u201d said Vydyanath. \u201cIt\u2019s [generally] got to be $50 million-plus at valuations clearing around $1.3-1.4 trillion.\u201d<\/p>\n And even then, for Anthropic, you might struggle, regardless of how much money you want to throw at the company.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s an incredibly cluttered market,\u201d said Christine Healey, founder of broker firm Healey Pre-IPO. \u201cEven some investors trying to do $10 million or $100 million ticket sizes can struggle to find access\u2026 Based on what I\u2019ve seen, Anthropic is a market where demand far outweighs supply, probably by 3x, 4x, 5x demand versus supply.\u201d<\/p>\n To get into OpenAI, on the other hand, you can probably deploy between $500,000 and $1 million, several sources tell me. Caplight\u2019s Avalos added that demand for OpenAI shares has somewhat recovered from earlier-year lows in recent months.\u00a0<\/p>\n Now, depending on who you are, what you believe, and how much money you have, this could be an opportunity.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cRight now, what I can say is that OpenAI feels underpriced and Anthropic feels overpriced,\u201d said Underline\u2019s Vydyanath. \u201cIn reality, OpenAI is a phenomenal deal right now.\u201d<\/p>\n See you tomorrow,<\/p>\n Allie Garfinkle Submit a deal for the Term Sheet newsletter here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Joey Abrams curated the deals section of today\u2019s newsletter. Subscribe here<\/a>.<\/p>\n VENTURE CAPITAL<\/p>\n – Medici Brands<\/a>, the New York City-based parent company of protein-bar maker David Protein and snack brand HallPass, raised $250 million in Series B funding. Greenoaks and Valor Equity Partners led the round and were joined by ICONIQ, Imaginary Ventures, and Peter Rahal.<\/p>\n – TabaPay<\/a>, a Palo Alto, Calif.-based platform that helps banks and fintechs move money, raised $155 million in funding. FTV Capital led the round.<\/p>\n – iPronics<\/a>, a Valencia, Spain-based maker of optical networking technology for AI data centers, raised $125 million in Series B funding. Maverick Silicon and Light Street Capital led the round and were joined by Nvidia.<\/p>\n – Capacity<\/a>, a University City, Mo.-based AI platform that automates customer-support tasks, raised $54 million in Series E funding. Kathy Ireland led the round.<\/p>\n – Conveo<\/a>, a London, U.K.-based AI platform that conducts and analyzes video interviews, raised $50 million in Series A funding from DST Global Partners, Balderton Capital, Visionaries, 6 Degrees Capital and Y Combinator.<\/p>\n – Aitan<\/a>, a defense-technology company that makes AI-powered robotic systems, raised $41 million in funding. Deep33 and Dell Technologies Capital led the round.<\/p>\n – N-Power Medicine<\/a>, a Redwood City, Calif.-based company that helps develop cancer drugs and supports community cancer care, raised $32 million in Series B funding from Labcorp Venture Fund, Merck Global Health Innovation Fund, and others.<\/p>\n – iPremom<\/a>, a Valencia, Spain-based molecular-diagnostics company focused on detecting pregnancy complications early, raised\u00a0 \u20ac15 million ($17.4 million) in seed funding. Amadeus Capital Partners led the round and was joined by Asabys Partners.<\/p>\n – Helogen<\/a>, a New York City and Los Angeles, Calif.-based space-manufacturing company developing factories for making advanced materials in orbit, raised $7.1 million in seed funding. RRE Ventures and Oceans led the round and were joined by One Way Ventures, Blisce, AUM, Aurelia Foundry, Mana VC, and others.<\/p>\n – Konko AI<\/a>, a New York City and Costa Rica-based AI platform that helps healthcare providers manage patient communication and administrative tasks, raised $6 million in funding. Hi Ventures led the round and was joined by LifeX Ventures, SquareOne Capital, GroundUp Ventures, Phoenix Fund, and angel investors.<\/p>\n – Catch<\/a>, a Tel Aviv, Israel-based AI administrative assistant for business leaders, raised $5 million in seed funding. Entr\u00e9e Capital and Pitango led the round and were joined by Seedcamp and Factorial Capital.<\/p>\n – Plenti<\/a>, a Medell\u00edn, Colombia-based fintech company offering international accounts and money-transfer services, raised $3 million in seed funding. Tether led the round and was joined by Verda Ventures.<\/p>\n PRIVATE EQUITY<\/p>\n – KKR agreed to acquire A1 Garage Door Service, a Phoenix, Ariz.-based residential garage-door repair and replacement company, for approximately $2 billion, per Reuters<\/a>.<\/p>\n – Align Capital Partners acquired Trident Solutions<\/a>, a Plano, Texas-based manufacturer of safety-marking, identification, and damage-prevention products. Financial terms were not disclosed.<\/p>\n – Green Security, backed by Spire Capital and Strattam Capital, acquired VenSero<\/a>, a Clearwater, Fla.-based platform that helps hospitals coordinate outside surgical vendors. Financial terms were not disclosed.<\/p>\n – H.I.G. Capital acquired Outcomes<\/a>, an Orlando, Fla.-based provider of pharmacy technology and clinical-network services. Financial terms were not disclosed.\u00a0<\/p>\n – Marco Sealing Solutions, a portfolio company of Align Capital Partners, acquired Global O-Ring and Seal<\/a>, a Houston, Texas-based distributor of O-rings and other sealing products. Financial terms were not disclosed.<\/p>\n OTHERS<\/p>\n
X: @agarfinks<\/a>
Email: alexandra.garfinkle@fortune.com<\/a><\/p>\n