Shaires Holdings (AIM: SHR) has unveiled an initial private technology portfolio worth up to US$86.7 million, giving the London-listed investment company exposure to seven companies spanning frontier AI, payments, robotics, quantum computing and biotechnology.
The portfolio comprises Anthropic, Stripe, Figure AI, ByteDance, Moonshot AI, SandboxAQ and Colossal Biosciences, assembled through a mixture of cash purchases, options over interests held in special-purpose vehicles and in-kind share-for-share contributions.
Alongside the investments, Shaires launched a UK retail offer at US$20 per share, the same price as its recently completed US$28.5 million institutional placing and an 18% discount to Wednesday's US$24.50 closing price. A second institutional tranche is also underway, with Shaires targeting US$100 million across the two institutional raises, retail offer and initial in-kind contributions.
Trading has entered a Capital Access Window while the retail offer is open, with the offer expected to close on 18 August. Shaires said additional investment and contribution opportunities worth up to US$500 million are under advanced negotiation, although there is no certainty they will complete.
Chief executive Vivek Seth said: “Look at what sits in it: Anthropic, Stripe, ByteDance, Figure AI, SandboxAQ, Moonshot AI, Colossal Biosciences. Elsewhere in public markets, these names might appear as a fraction of a fund or a line item in somebody else's portfolio. Here, they are the whole point of the company.”
Now, let's take a closer look at the new investments.
Anthropic — up to US$16.2 million
Shaires has an option to acquire an indirect interest in Claude developer Anthropic through an SPV managed by Rizvi Traverse, which is controlled by Shaires executive chairman Suhail Rizvi.
The investment would be made at Anthropic's US$965 billion Series H valuation, equivalent to about US$589.01 per share, and would give Shaires an indirect interest of roughly 0.001%.
Rizvi Traverse has waived carried interest and other incentive fees on the purchased interests. The options covering Anthropic, Stripe and Figure AI are expected to be exercised by 31 August, subject to conditions.
ByteDance — US$15 million
Shaires is investing US$15 million for indirect exposure to ByteDance, owner of TikTok, Douyin and the Doubao AI assistant.
The transaction values ByteDance at US$585 billion, equivalent to US$355.50 per share. Including a 6% upfront fee, the effective valuation rises to about US$620 billion, with Shaires' total cash outlay around US$15.9 million.
The position represents approximately 0.003% of ByteDance and will be held through a ring-fenced share class of a Luxembourg fund buying Series B preferred shares in a company-approved secondary sale. Completion is expected within two weeks.
SandboxAQ — US$14.8 million
Shaires is taking an approximately US$14.8 million indirect position in enterprise AI and quantum computing company SandboxAQ through an in-kind contribution rather than a cash purchase.
The deal values SandboxAQ at about US$14 billion fully diluted, equivalent to US$41.35 per share, and gives Shaires exposure to around 0.11% of its ordinary shares.
In exchange, Shaires will issue 741,821 new shares at US$20 each, equivalent to 19.3% of its enlarged share capital after admission. No management fee or carried interest is payable on the underlying SPVs.
Figure AI — up to US$14.5 million
Shaires has an option to invest up to US$14.5 million in humanoid robotics developer Figure AI.
The position would be acquired at Figure's US$39 billion Series C valuation, equivalent to approximately US$194.93 per share, giving Shaires an indirect equity interest of up to 0.04%.
The investment is held through a dedicated Delaware SPV managed by Rizvi Traverse, with no carried interest or incentive allocation payable to related parties.
Colossal Biosciences — US$12 million initially
Shaires is acquiring around US$12 million of shares in Colossal Biosciences, the AI-driven genetics and de-extinction company, through another in-kind transaction.
The shares are valued at US$24.89 each, implying a fully diluted valuation of roughly US$10.3 billion, and represent approximately 0.1% of Colossal.
Shaires will issue 600,000 new shares at US$20 each as consideration, with no cash payment. The agreement also gives Shaires discretion to increase its Colossal holding to as much as US$42 million in aggregate at the same price.
Together, the SandboxAQ and Colossal transactions will result in 1.34 million new Shaires shares being issued, taking its total shares in issue to about 3.84 million following admission.
Stripe — up to US$9.3 million
Shaires' option agreement also covers up to roughly US$9.3 million of exposure to payments and financial-infrastructure company Stripe.
The investment is priced at Stripe's US$159 billion February 2026 tender valuation, equivalent to approximately US$63 per share, and would represent an indirect holding of around 0.006%.
The Anthropic and Stripe positions are held through a Rizvi Traverse-managed Delaware structure. Shaires will pay certain upfront broking costs passed through to placement agents and bridge-financing sources, but no carried interest or incentive allocation to related parties.
Moonshot AI — US$5 million
The smallest initial commitment is US$5 million for exposure to China's Moonshot AI, developer of the Kimi family of large language models.
Shaires is subscribing for participating shares in an Abu Dhabi Global Market SPV whose sole asset will be its Moonshot investment. The position would represent an indirect economic interest of approximately 0.016%.
The transaction implies a valuation of around US$31.5 billion and carries a 12% upfront fee, with no management fee or carried interest. Completion is expected by the end of August, subject to the SPV completing its acquisition of the underlying interest.
The retail offer is scheduled to close at 4.30pm on 18 August, with admission of the SandboxAQ and Colossal consideration shares expected on or around 21 August.
