After the Space Exploration Technology initial public offering (IPO), the next highly anticipated IPO is likely to be from the artificial intelligence (AI) start-up Anthropic. On June 1, Anthropic submitted a confidential S-1 filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission, placing it on the path to go public.
Much like the situation ahead of the SpaceX IPO, however, most investors will not be able to buy into the company directly before it goes public. That said, there's an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that already owns shares of Anthropic that can be invested in today: the KraneShares Artificial Intelligence and Technology ETF (AGIX 0.37%).
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KraneShares' investment approach and public holdings
KraneShares invests in both public and private tech and AI companies, with 80% of its net assets allocated to stocks in the Solactive Etna Artificial General Intelligence Index. That index focuses on three investable areas of AI: hardware, infrastructure, and applications. This helps create broader investments in AI, going beyond the ETF just purely holding chipmakers or software companies.
NASDAQ: AGIX
Key Data Points
For the public companies it owns, some of the leading names in tech make up the top five holdings, including: Nvidia (the No.1 holding), Alphabet, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, and Apple. It also holds SK Hynix, an increasingly popular memory and storage company that trades on the Korean Exchange and can be difficult for U.S. investors to access.
Private investments
For its stake in Anthropic, KraneShares invested directly in the AI company during a fundraising round and holds about 17,800 shares. As of June 17, Anthropic accounts for 1.4% of the ETF's holdings.
Besides Anthropic, KraneShares also invested in SpaceX before it went public and now owns over 111,000 shares. It also owns over 367,000 shares in Nuro, an autonomous vehicle and robotics company, and more than 14,000 shares in the prediction market operator Polymarket.
The rewards and risks of the KraneShares ETF
This ETF has performed well thus far in 2026, climbing more than 27% as of June 18. Most of its holdings are publicly traded, but it still offers exposure to pre-IPO companies that the average investor typically can't invest in directly. By focusing on AI companies in the hardware, infrastructure, and applications sectors, it also helps avoid the risk of being overly concentrated in just one segment of AI.
Still, there are risks involved. One is that this ETF could face short-term volatility, having a hot run ahead of the Anthropic IPO that cools off once it's public. Because investors can buy Antrhopic stock directly when it opens to the public, this ETF may look less appealing to some. There's also a significant risk that any sell-off in AI stocks will hit this ETF particularly hard, as its entire focus is on AI.
That said, for long-term investors who seek broad exposure to AI and who appreciate that the KraneShares Artificial Intelligence and Technology ETF holds several private companies, it may be a portfolio fit.
