This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Sebastian Sagar, who works in finance and is selling a $6.25 million luxury apartment in New York. He is accepting shares in Anthropic as part of a potential sale of the property. It has been edited for length and clarity.
A few years ago, I had an opportunity to buy pre-IPO shares in Anthropic. At the time, I passed. I thought there were better places to put my money.
Looking back, I wish I had taken the opportunity in the early investment round.
Now Anthropic is one of the most talked-about AI companies in the world, and I started thinking about whether there was another way to invest in it.
I own a luxury apartment in Tribeca that I no longer use. My life is in Florida now. I'm getting married and planning to start a family, so I won't be spending much time in New York City.
So I had an idea: What if I traded the apartment for Anthropic stock?
That's why my listing now says I'll consider accepting shares as part of a deal.
It may sound unconventional, but to me it makes perfect sense. Looking at my portfolio, I realized I was overweight in real estate. I already own a lot of property, and I want to invest more in AI.
When I bought the apartment, I was in a completely different stage of life. I loved spending time in New York, and it was a great home base. Then I met my fiancée. Almost overnight, my priorities changed. We built our lives in Florida and decided we weren't looking back.
I still love New York. I'm actually very bullish on the city long term. Even though the market is rough right now, New York has survived and reinvented itself countless times.
The apartment itself is beautiful. It's in northwest Tribeca, which I think is one of the best neighborhoods in the city. It's quiet, safe, family-oriented, and the building is incredible.
I'll genuinely miss it when it's gone. But I don't want to be a landlord or spend my time managing a rental property from another state. I want to focus on my work and on investing. So I decided it was time to sell.
I bought the apartment for about $7 million at the end of 2024. When I listed it in June 2025, I didn't imagine I'd still be talking about it a year later.
Since then, I've lowered the asking price to $6.25 million, changed brokers, and explored different ways to attract the right buyer. The idea of trading for Anthropic stock didn't come until I read that the company was opening an office a few blocks away.
If I'm going to sell an asset that no longer fits my life, I'd rather turn it into an investment I genuinely want to own for the long term.
I started imagining Anthropic employees sitting on valuable pre-IPO equity that they can't easily access. They can't simply sell their shares whenever they want, and traditional banks aren't lining up to lend against private-company stock. Meanwhile, I was sitting on an apartment I wanted to convert into a different type of investment.
It felt like a situation where both sides could solve each other's problems. Someone could acquire a home within walking distance of work. I could gain exposure to a company I believe has enormous long-term potential.
That's what attracted me to the idea.
I'm not exclusively interested in Anthropic. I'd be open to OpenAI shares, too. If someone from another major tech company wanted to structure a creative deal, I'd listen, but Anthropic is the company that first came to mind because I had the chance to invest before and missed it.
And yes, I would seriously consider taking Anthropic stock rather than cash.
If two buyers came to me tomorrow and one offered all cash while another offered Anthropic shares, I'd be inclined to take the stock deal. Even if the tech buyer came in under the asking price, I'd still prefer it — if I accepted a stock deal below my asking price, I believe the future growth of a company like Anthropic could more than offset the difference.
That's because I believe strongly in where AI is headed. I use these tools every day, and I think we're still in the early innings. Companies like Anthropic haven't even scratched the surface of how AI could be used in healthcare, education, and other industries.
As an investor, that's exciting to me. I'm simply trying to move from one asset that no longer fits my life into another asset that I think has tremendous future potential.
Most people sell a property and take the cash — I'm just trying something a little different.
