Now that SpaceX blasted off, it’s time to prep for the next mega initial public offerings, OpenAI and Anthropic, sometime in the next few months.
And like with SpaceX, a handful of exchange-traded funds already own pre-IPO shares of the AI titans.
Two worth keeping an eye are the iShares AI Innovation & Tech Active ETF and T. Rowe Price Technology ETF.
The iShares fund owns Anthropic preferred shares and OpenAI preferred shares were valued as of Friday at $109 million and $47 million, respectively. The two positions combined make up about 1% of the fund’s assets.
Similarly, the T. Rowe Price tech fund’s private stakes in Anthropic and OpenAI make up $3.2 million and $1.7 million of the fund, or roughly 1.4% of the its $345.4 million in assets.
Both ETFs have rockets this year because of much bigger positions in AI chip winners. Four are Advanced Micro Devices, Intel, Taiwan Semiconductor, and SK Hynix. The gains for both the T. Rowe ETF and the iShares fund are eyepoppers—36% and 56%, respectively.
Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest, which is a big fan of SpaceX and CEO Elon Musk, has stakes in OpenAI and Anthropic through a few funds.
ARK owns OpenAI in three ETFs: the ARK Blockchain & Fintech Innovation ETF, ARK Innovation ETF and ARK Next Generation internet ETF. The ARK Venture interval fund, a closed-end mutual fund, owns OpenAI and Anthropic.
Wood’s funds could use a boost. Her flagship ARK Innovation ETF has is up just 4% this year, compared with the S&P 500’s 10.6% gain. The blockchain fund has been dragged down by the poor performance of big holdings such as Coinbase and Robinhood. And the next generation fund is flat.
Another growth-oriented investing firm, Alger, owns Anthropic in three ETFs: the Alger 35 ETF, Alger AI Enablers & Adopters ETF and Alger Concentrated Equity ETF. All are up 20% to 25% this year.
And one fund that owns Anthropic and SpaceX, the KraneShares Public-Private AI & Technology ETF, has jumped more than 30% this year. It is riding high on investments in the Magnificent Seven, Broadcom, and AMD.
Of course, who knows whether OpenAI or Anthropic will attract the same crazy interest as SpaceX. But does that even matter?
If you like AI, IPOs and you’re a risk taker, you can own OpenAI and Anthropic before they go public. We just told you how.
