Anthropic, the artificial intelligence start-up, filed a confidential S-1 with the Securities and Exchange Commission on June 1, setting the stage for a highly anticipated public offering.
The filing places Anthropic among the most closely watched IPO candidates of 2026, following significant investor interest in the AI sector more broadly.
Most retail investors will not have the opportunity to buy into Anthropic directly before it begins trading publicly on an exchange.
However, the KraneShares Artificial Intelligence and Technology ETF (NASDAQ: AGIX) already holds a stake in Anthropic, offering one accessible route into the pre-IPO company today.
KraneShares invested directly in Anthropic during a fundraising round and currently holds approximately 17,800 shares in the company.
As of June 17, Anthropic accounts for 1.4% of the ETF’s total holdings, making it a meaningful but not dominant position within the fund.
KraneShares allocates 80% of its net assets to stocks in the Solactive Etna Artificial General Intelligence Index, which covers AI hardware, infrastructure, and applications.
Among its publicly traded holdings, the ETF’s top five positions include Nvidia, Alphabet, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, and Apple, representing some of the largest names in global technology.
The fund also holds SK Hynix, a memory and storage company traded on the Korean Exchange that can be difficult for American investors to access directly.
Beyond Anthropic, KraneShares holds pre-IPO stakes in other notable private companies, including over 111,000 shares in SpaceX, more than 367,000 shares in autonomous vehicle and robotics company Nuro, and over 14,000 shares in prediction market operator Polymarket.
The ETF has delivered strong performance in 2026, climbing more than 27% as of June 18, driven largely by broad enthusiasm for AI-related investments.
Its diversified approach across hardware, infrastructure, and applications reduces the risk of being overly concentrated in any single segment of the AI market.
Investors should be aware, however, that the ETF carries meaningful risks, particularly given its exclusive focus on AI companies and the potential for sector-wide sell-offs to hit the fund hard.
There is also the possibility that once Anthropic begins trading publicly and investors can buy its stock directly, the appeal of holding AGIX as an indirect route to Anthropic may diminish.
For long-term investors seeking broad AI exposure that includes access to private pre-IPO companies, the KraneShares Artificial Intelligence and Technology ETF may represent a compelling portfolio consideration.
