Robinhood Competes for Bigger Retail Allocation in Anthropic IPO

Robinhood Markets is vying to secure a larger allocation of Anthropic IPO shares for retail investors ahead of the artificial intelligence company's market debut.

Bloomberg reported on November 2 that Robinhood is competing with other brokerages to increase the share of Anthropic's IPO set aside for individual investors. In an updated IPO filing released the same day, Anthropic named Robinhood as one of the brokerages that will sell shares to retail investors.

Chief Financial Officer Shiv Verma told Bloomberg TV that Robinhood is gathering customer demand for IPO subscriptions and relaying it to listing companies and underwriting banks. He said competition among brokerages for allocations is fierce, while the final size of any allotment remains up to the issuing company.

A similar battle unfolded during SpaceX's IPO in June, when Robinhood, Charles Schwab, Fidelity, SoFi and Morgan Stanley's E*Trade competed for retail allocations. Eligible investors who subscribed through those platforms received at least one share.

Robinhood argues that retail investors should get a larger share of IPO allocations as their influence in equity markets grows. Verma said SpaceX had aimed to allocate about 15% to 20% of its offering to retail investors, while Robinhood reserved 20% of its own shares for individual investors when it went public.

Verma also emphasized that retail investors account for about 20% to 25% of the U.S. stock market. He said listed companies should recognize them as a key investor base and reflect that in the IPO allocation process.

Anthropic, the developer of the AI chatbot Claude, filed for an IPO on October 26. The company is expected to list later this month before the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday.

Anthropic said in materials released the same day that it plans to spend more than $895 billion over the next several years. With the listing process gaining momentum alongside the company's large-scale AI investment plan, attention is turning to how many shares will be allocated to retail investors.