ETFs Bet Big on AI: Pre-IPO Unicorns Spark Debate

Venture capital investors who acquired SpaceX shares at an early stage experienced substantial financial gains following its listing. This success has prompted other investment funds to adopt a similar strategy, targeting other anticipated mega-IPOs.

The Tema Space Innovators ETF (NASA) rapidly amassed $3.3 billion in assets under management shortly after its launch in late March, primarily due to its significant holdings in SpaceX. Similarly, the ERShares Private-Public Crossover ETF (XOVR) grew to nearly $2 billion by investing in SpaceX over a year before its public offering.

Following this trend, investment issuers are now focusing on Anthropic, another major tech company reportedly planning an IPO. The Tema Photonics & Optical ETF (LAZR) has acquired a substantial position in Anthropic through a special purpose vehicle. This fund, launched on June 30, currently holds approximately 10.6% of its net assets in Anthropic.

Despite the marketing appeal and potential investment upside, Anthropic's inclusion in a photonics-focused fund like LAZR has drawn criticism. LAZR's prospectus specifies investments in companies related to optical transceivers, laser sources, and silicon photonics. Anthropic's core business is providing access to large language models, which is fundamentally different from photonics technology, although it can be a customer of photonics solutions used in AI data centers. While the holding fits within the fund's 20% flexibility for non-core assets, it dilutes the fund's thematic focus.