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The secondaries market offers a window into the most-watched-IPO horse race, perhaps ever, between OpenAI and Anthropic. Now, the vibe, shall we say, for a while has been that OpenAI is falling behind Anthropic. Across the secondaries market, that’s certainly how prospective buyers seem to feel: demand for Anthropic shares is far exceeding the demand for OpenAI shares, pre-IPO market sources have been telling me. And though there’s a sense Anthropic fever has escalated in recent months (including the demand explosion around the company’s mammoth $65 billion fundraise), Anthropic shares have been the most prized for some time. “Anthropic has been the most in-demand name in the secondary market for about a year,” Javier Avalos, CEO at private markets platform Caplight, wrote to Fortune, adding that he’s seen about $1.5 billion interest in Anthropic since the beginning of Q2 2026. The demand for Anthropic shares back in May was described to me as “a pressure cooker ready to explode,” and in the aftermath, the company’s running a tight ship when it comes to who it allows to buy its shares on the secondary market. “In the secondary space, Anthropic really tightened its process around letting people into its cap table,” said Clara Vydyanath, general partner, Underline Capital. “A lot of cap-table GPs have warehoused positions… and they’re now piecemeal-selling blocks worth $20 million, $50 million, $100 million at a time.” Currently, Avalos said, Anthropic’s valuation is in the $1.4 trillion ballpark, up more than 400% year-over-year, according to Caplight data. This aligns with what Vydyanath is seeing. And if you don’t have millions to deploy, you’re probably not getting into Anthropic. “I think below $25 million is difficult,” said Vydyanath. “It’s [generally] got to be $50 million-plus at valuations clearing around $1.3-1.4 trillion.” And even then, for Anthropic, you might struggle, regardless of how much money you want to throw at the company. “It’s an incredibly cluttered market,” said Christine Healey, founder of broker firm Healey Pre-IPO. “Even some investors trying to do $10 million or $100 million ticket sizes can struggle to find access… Based on what I’ve seen, Anthropic is a market where demand far outweighs supply, probably by 3x, 4x, 5x demand versus supply.” To get into OpenAI, on the other hand, you can probably deploy between $500,000 and $1 million, several sources tell me. Caplight’s Avalos added that demand for OpenAI shares has somewhat recovered from earlier-year lows in recent months. Now, depending on who you are, what you believe, and how much money you have, this could be an opportunity. “Right now, what I can say is that OpenAI feels underpriced and Anthropic feels overpriced,” said Underline’s Vydyanath. “In reality, OpenAI is a phenomenal deal right now.” See you tomorrow, Allie Garfinkle X: @agarfinks Email: alexandra.garfinkle@fortune.com Submit a deal for the Term Sheet newsletter here. Joey Abrams curated the deals section of today’s newsletter. Subscribe here. VENTURE CAPITAL - Medici Brands, the New York City-based parent company of protein-bar maker David Protein and snack brand HallPass, raised $250 million in Series B funding. Greenoaks and Valor Equity Partners led the round and were joined by ICONIQ, Imaginary Ventures, and Peter Rahal. - TabaPay, a Palo Alto, Calif.-based platform that helps banks and fintechs move money, raised $155 million in funding. FTV Capital led the round. - iPronics, a Valencia, Spain-based maker of optical networking technology for AI data centers, raised $125 million in Series B funding. Maverick Silicon and Light Street Capital led the round and were joined by Nvidia. - Capacity, a University City, Mo.-based AI platform that automates customer-support tasks, raised $54 million in Series E funding. Kathy Ireland led the round. - Conveo, a London, U.K.-based AI platform that conducts and analyzes video interviews, raised $50 million in Series A funding from DST Global Partners, Balderton Capital, Visionaries, 6 Degrees Capital and Y Combinator. - Aitan, a defense-technology company that makes AI-powered robotic systems, raised $41 million in funding. Deep33 and Dell Technologies Capital led the round. - N-Power Medicine, a Redwood City, Calif.-based company that helps develop cancer drugs and supports community cancer care, raised $32 million in Series B funding from Labcorp Venture Fund, Merck Global Health Innovation Fund, and others. - iPremom, a Valencia, Spain-based molecular-diagnostics company focused on detecting pregnancy complications early, raised €15 million ($17.4 million) in seed funding. Amadeus Capital Partners led the round and was joined by Asabys Partners. - Helogen, a New York City and Los Angeles, Calif.-based space-manufacturing company developing factories for making advanced materials in orbit, raised $7.1 million in seed funding. RRE Ventures and Oceans led the round and were joined by One Way Ventures, Blisce, AUM, Aurelia Foundry, Mana VC, and others. - Konko AI, a New York City and Costa Rica-based AI platform that helps healthcare providers manage patient communication and administrative tasks, raised $6 million in funding. Hi Ventures led the round and was joined by LifeX Ventures, SquareOne Capital, GroundUp Ventures, Phoenix Fund, and angel investors. - Catch, a Tel Aviv, Israel-based AI administrative assistant for business leaders, raised $5 million in seed funding. Entrée Capital and Pitango led the round and were joined by Seedcamp and Factorial Capital. - Plenti, a Medellín, Colombia-based fintech company offering international accounts and money-transfer services, raised $3 million in seed funding. Tether led the round and was joined by Verda Ventures. PRIVATE EQUITY - KKR agreed to acquire A1 Garage Door Service, a Phoenix, Ariz.-based residential garage-door repair and replacement company, for approximately $2 billion, per Reuters. - Align Capital Partners acquired Trident Solutions, a Plano, Texas-based manufacturer of safety-marking, identification, and damage-prevention products. Financial terms were not disclosed. - Green Security, backed by Spire Capital and Strattam Capital, acquired VenSero, a Clearwater, Fla.-based platform that helps hospitals coordinate outside surgical vendors. Financial terms were not disclosed. - H.I.G. Capital acquired Outcomes, an Orlando, Fla.-based provider of pharmacy technology and clinical-network services. Financial terms were not disclosed. - Marco Sealing Solutions, a portfolio company of Align Capital Partners, acquired Global O-Ring and Seal, a Houston, Texas-based distributor of O-rings and other sealing products. Financial terms were not disclosed. OTHERS - Cureety acquired Reimagine Care, a Nashville, Tenn.-based oncology-care company that helps patients manage treatment and symptoms remotely. Financial terms were not disclosed. PEOPLE - Felicis, a Menlo Park, Calif.-based venture capital firm, hired Tony Shi as Partner. Previously, he was with Pear VC.
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