ThinkMarkets launches AI-linked CFDs

ThinkMarkets has launched 24/7 contracts linked to the market values of Anthropic and OpenAI.

The products allow clients to take long or short positions at any time. They are offered as cash-settled CFDs, giving traders exposure to changes in company valuations without owning shares or receiving IPO allocations.

The move comes as Anthropic moves closer to the public markets. The company, known for its Claude large language model, has filed for an IPO and applied to list on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker symbol ANT.

While Anthropic has not yet disclosed a proposed share price range, interest in the potential listing is already growing across financial and crypto markets.

Investor expectations for Anthropic’s value have risen far above the level reached in its latest private funding round. Crypto-based perpetual futures linked to the company’s possible listing recently implied a valuation of around $1.87 trillion. That is almost double the $965 billion post-money valuation recorded during its May fundraising round.

The difference shows the high level of optimism surrounding leading AI companies. Markets continue to place significant value on the sector’s long-term growth potential, and demand for ways to gain exposure to those firms remains strong.

What RHR thinks

We believe the growing demand for AI-linked investment products shows that investors see artificial intelligence as a major force in future innovation and capital markets. As interest continues to grow, new trading instruments are likely to become increasingly important for giving investors access to this fast-changing area of the market.

What this means for hiring. The story is most relevant for product, technology, trading and sales roles at brokers and trading platforms. As firms expand their range of AI-linked products, they may need people who can develop, support and market these new trading instruments.