Anthropic IPO: How Indians can invest in Claude maker
What's the story
Anthropic, the artificial intelligence (AI) start-up behind the popular chatbot Claude, is gearing up for its initial public offering (IPO) on Nasdaq. The company filed its IPO prospectus on October 26 and plans to trade under the ticker symbol "ANT." The move has piqued interest among Indian investors looking to invest in this innovative tech firm.
Investment avenues
Direct participation in US IPO
The upcoming IPO has led Indian investors to consider various ways to invest.
One option is direct participation in the US IPO, which is allowed under the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) Liberalized Remittance Scheme (LRS).
This scheme permits remittances of up to $250,000 per resident in a financial year for overseas investments.
However, unlike India, there are no fixed quotas for retail or foreign retail investors in the US IPO market.
Indirect exposure
Indirect exposure through Alphabet
Indian investors can also get indirect exposure to Anthropic by investing in Alphabet, Google's parent company.
Alphabet has committed up to $40 billion in funding for Anthropic, including an initial cash infusion of $10 billion and another $30 billion contingent on the AI start-up meeting performance targets.
However, this only provides partial economic exposure as Alphabet's share price is influenced by its larger business operations.
Investment process
Buying shares on listing day
For Indian retail investors, the most practical way to invest in a US IPO is to buy shares on listing day through an Indian app offering overseas investments or a foreign broker.
"Once Anthropic is publicly listed and available for trading, Indian investors can access its shares through global investing platforms," said Viram Shah, Founder & CEO of Vested.
This approach allows buying shares through international trading accounts instead of seeking allotment at the IPO price.
Investment evaluation
Key considerations for Indian investors
Before investing in Anthropic's IPO, Indian investors should evaluate the company's financial disclosures, competitive position, and long-term growth prospects.
"More importantly, investors should not make an investment decision solely based on the excitement surrounding an AI IPO," Shah emphasized.
He also stressed the importance of understanding how Anthropic generates revenue and whether its growth can translate into sustainable profitability.