Anthropic IPO Access Limits Push Asian Investors Toward Proxy Bets

Asian investors are turning to indirect proxies for exposure to Anthropic's initial public offering, as access to the AI firm's equity offering—expected to value it at around $1.5 trillion—remains difficult despite Japan and Australia being included in the international portion. The most prominent proxy is Asia's chip industry. Anthropic's roughly $800 billion compute buildout points to gains for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., SK Hynix Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co., all named in the IPO prospectus. SK Telecom Co., which holds a multibillion-dollar Anthropic stake, has seen shares climb 9% over the past two sessions. Commonwealth Bank of Australia, whose stake exceeded $1 billion as of the end of June, has risen 8% this month. Crypto platforms are also offering synthetic exposure. OKX and Binance launched Anthropic-linked perpetual futures in May and June, while Hyperliquid's EntropyIO venue implied a valuation of about $1.88 trillion. Some analysts remain cautious. Union Bancaire Privee's Vey-Sern Ling said investors "are probably better off sticking with Anthropic's suppliers," citing the loss-making company's uncertain path to profitability.