The Easiest Way to Invest in the Anthropic IPO May Be Hidden in Plain Sight

After speculation swirled around a September or October initial public offering (IPO) for Anthropic, it looks like November could be the month the artificial intelligence (AI) start-up debuts to the public. According to a report from The Wall Street Journal, some of Anthropic's advisors suggested the company wait until November so that Anthropic could showcase its strong competitive position in the AI space through its third-quarter financials.

That said, before Anthropic shares start trading to the public, there may be another investment worth consideration.

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The easiest way to invest in Anthropic

The most straightforward way to invest in Anthropic will be to buy shares when it debuts on the public markets. Whenever that day may be, someone can purchase shares by using their brokerage account. That said, investing in Anthropic right out of the gate may not be the best option for some investors.

One reason is that, depending on demand, it may initially be difficult to fill full orders at certain prices. With the Space Exploration Technologies IPO, for instance, investors had difficulty getting their entire initial orders filled. Another reason is that, if Anthropic's looks anything like the SpaceX IPO, investors need to be prepared for early volatility. Since June 12, SpaceX shares have traded as high as $225.64 and as low as $104.83.

In addition, some may view Anthropic as a potential leader in AI, but are worried about its lack of profitability, an increasingly competitive field, and the capital expenditures required to develop, train, and control advanced AI models.

To limit the risk of investing directly in Anthropic, one solution is to own shares of an established company that, even before the IPO, holds a stake in Anthropic: Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN).

The more established AI player

In 2023, Amazon began investing in Anthropic, initially with $8 billion across multiple installments. Amazon also invested $5 billion in 2026 and has committed to invest up to $20 billion more.

In addition to owning a stake in Anthropic, Amazon also names the AI start-up as a customer. On April 20, Anthropic announced it is committing up to $100 billion over 10 years to Amazon Web Services (AWS) technologies to train and run its Claude model.

With its stake in the start-up, Amazon benefits financially if Anthropic succeeds, but it's not entirely reliant on Anthropic's success for its own. Through AWS, Amazon can still generate revenue by hosting other companies' AI models if those models prove to be more dominant. In comparison, Anthropic must have the most advanced AI models to outcompete its rivals, with little room for error.

The only caveat is that, as a $2.7 trillion company as of this writing, Amazon is likely to find it more difficult to massively move the needle on its stock price than Anthropic; Anthropic was valued at $965 billion in May. But along with greater stock price appreciation potential, Anthropic also carries more risk, making Amazon the potentially more ideal investment for those who want some exposure to Anthropic but are largely looking to avoid the risk of severe stock price drops that recently public companies are known for.

Jack Delaney has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.