Hustler Words – The often-opaque world of private securities markets is currently witnessing a dramatic convergence of titans, with AI darlings Anthropic and OpenAI vying for investor attention alongside the aerospace behemoth SpaceX. Glen Anderson, President of Rainmaker Securities, a firm specializing in private market transactions, offers a unique vantage point on this high-stakes drama. With institutional interest in late-stage private companies exploding from a handful in 2010 to thousands today, Anderson identifies these three entities as the central characters in a narrative far more intricate than surface-level headlines suggest.
At the heart of the current fervor is Anthropic, whose shares are experiencing what can only be described as insatiable demand. Reports, including those cited by Bloomberg, indicate a staggering $2 billion in investor capital is earmarked for Anthropic shares, contrasting sharply with the struggle to offload approximately $600 million in OpenAI stock. Anderson confirms this trend from his vantage point at Rainmaker, noting to Hustler Words that Anthropic is "the hardest stock to source in our marketplace… There’s just no sellers."
A surprising catalyst for Anthropic’s meteoric rise in investor appeal, Anderson suggests, was its very public confrontation with the Department of Defense. What initially appeared to be a setback ultimately transformed into a boon, amplifying the company’s narrative and further distinguishing it from competitors like OpenAI. "The app got more popular, people rallied around the company as kind of a hero, taking on big government," Anderson explained, highlighting how this episode solidified Anthropic’s unique market position.
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While many institutional investors still seek exposure to both leading AI models, the momentum in the secondary market has undeniably shifted. OpenAI, though not in decline, lacks the vibrant market enthusiasm currently surrounding Anthropic. Anderson clarifies that it’s not a binary choice for investors, but concedes, "It’s not nearly as vibrant a market as Anthropic right now." On the valuation front, OpenAI shares in the secondary market are reportedly trading at a discount, around a $765 billion valuation, compared to its latest primary-round valuation of $852 billion. OpenAI itself has attempted to exert greater control over secondary trading, advising caution against unauthorized channels and promoting its own fee-free avenues through major banks. Interestingly, while banks like Goldman Sachs are charging customary carry fees for Anthropic exposure, they are offering OpenAI shares to high-net-worth clients without such charges.
However, the impending entry of SpaceX into the public markets threatens to overshadow even the most captivating AI narratives. Anderson highlights SpaceX as a rare outlier, having navigated the punishing private market correction between 2022 and 2024 with consistent upward trajectory, while many companies saw valuations plummet by 60% to 70%. He attributes this resilience to disciplined management and a conservative pricing strategy, avoiding the temptation to maximize every funding round’s valuation. This approach has yielded immense returns for early investors; a 2015 investment, when the company was valued at roughly $12 billion, now represents a gain of over 100x, with SpaceX currently valued at more than $1 trillion.
The long-anticipated SpaceX IPO now appears imminent. The company confidentially filed for an initial public offering this week, potentially targeting a raise of $50 billion to $75 billion, possibly as early as June. This debut could rival Saudi Aramco’s 2019 offering as one of history’s largest. Unsurprisingly, this news has already galvanized the secondary market for SpaceX shares. "Today, I saw a flood of SpaceX investors coming to me saying, ‘Can you give me SpaceX?’" Anderson observed, noting a surge in buy-side activity, even as existing shareholders, anticipating the liquidity event, become less inclined to sell.
This impending market debut casts a long shadow over Anthropic and OpenAI, both reportedly exploring their own public offerings this year. Anderson warns that SpaceX, by being the first to market, will significantly test and potentially absorb a substantial portion of available IPO liquidity. "SpaceX is going to soak up a lot of liquidity," he stated plainly, suggesting that subsequent offerings from the AI companies might face increased scrutiny and a smaller pool of capital. The strategic timing of an IPO, therefore, becomes paramount: going first can capture the market’s initial appetite, but waiting too long might mean the biggest checks have already been written.
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