Before Anthropic's IPO, Investors Are Loading Up on This ETF (AGIX)

With the Space Exploration Technologies initial public offering now in the rear-view mirror, the next big attention-grabbing IPO will be Anthropic's. On June 1, the artificial intelligence (AI) start-up submitted its confidential S-1 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, a move that puts it on a clear path to becoming a publicly traded company.

Typically, retail investors are unable to buy shares of privately held companies directly. But some investment vehicles do buy stakes in pre-IPO companies, and some of those are accessible to everyone. One such investment is the KraneShares Artificial Intelligence and Technology ETF (AGIX 0.07%).

Access to Anthropic

Putting money into KraneShares isn't a replacement for investing in Anthropic directly. But as the increasingly popular exchange-traded fund (ETF) has made its own investment in Anthropic, it does offer retail investors some exposure. As of June 22, it holds 17,829 shares of Anthropic valued at nearly $13 million, representing 1.3% of the ETF's portfolio weight.

"KraneShares has always been dedicated to unlocking investment opportunities that were once out of reach for most investors. By securing direct ownership in Anthropic -- a leading private AI company -- we are making investing in private companies more accessible," KraneShares senior investment strategist Derek Yan said in the ETF's Anthropic investment announcement.

What else does it hold?

KraneShares also has stakes in two other privately held companies: 14,000 shares of the prediction market platform Polymarket and more than 367,000 shares of the robotics and autonomous vehicle company Nuro. But around 98% of its holdings are in publicly traded companies.

AGIX puts at least 80% of its net assets into stocks that are included in the Solactive Etna Artificial General Intelligence index, which focuses on three main AI segments: hardware, infrastructure, and applications.

The top 10 holdings of the ETF include some of the most recognizable names in AI, which are listed below in order of portfolio weight:

Meta Platforms

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing

Astera Labs
Arm Holdings

Getting the full picture of AGIX

Before investing in AGIX, there are a few things to consider. The first is that it has only been around since 2024, so it has a limited track record. The second is that its heavy focus on AI means it's at risk of taking a particularly hard hit in the event of a large-scale sell-off in that sector.

Finally, because most of its top holdings are widely held in retail investors' portfolios, the ETF may not offer much additional diversification -- particularly for investors who already have a tech-heavy portfolio concentrated in large-cap stocks. Plus, there's the fund's 0.9% expense ratio to keep in mind. That's it fairly high annual fee.

That said, AGIX spreads its risk by holding companies across multiple sectors, offers a cost-effective investment strategy for AI by trading at under $50 per share, and is performing well. Over the last year, shares are up more than 50%.

This ETF can benefit from a successful Anthropic IPO, but with all of its additional holdings, it offers much more to long-term investors.