LAZR
Anthropic, but make it an ETF thing
Tema’s month-old photonics and optical ETF, LAZR, just did something a little unexpected: it loaded up on Anthropic through a special purpose vehicle and made the private AI company its top holding at about 12% of the fund.
That means if you buy LAZR, you’re not just betting on the usual photonics suspects. You’re also getting a front-row seat to one of the buzziest private AI names on the planet — before the IPO circus even starts.
Why this matters
Anthropic isn’t some random startup with a fancy deck and a prayer. Tema CEO Maurits Pot is basically arguing the company sits at the center of the AI stack because it needs:
- more compute
- more memory
- more networking
In other words, all the stuff that makes chipmakers, data-center gear, and photonics companies look like the real winners behind the chatbot gold rush.
The pre-IPO FOMO is real
Pot called Anthropic a “generational company,” and the fund is clearly acting like it. Tema says it’s not trying to flip the trade when Anthropic eventually lists; it wants long-term exposure to a company it believes could become one of the defining AI platforms of the next decade.
That’s great if you like conviction. It’s also a reminder that the private markets are now so hot that ETFs are finding creative ways to sneak in before the IPO confetti hits the floor.
Big picture
For investors, this is less about Anthropic itself — you can’t buy it on Nasdaq yet — and more about the frenzy around pre-IPO AI access. LAZR is basically saying: if the next phase of AI needs light-speed plumbing, maybe the fund that owns the plumbing should also own a piece of the party.