Anthropic Pledges 5% of Shares to Public Benefit Fund Ahead of Planned IPO

Anthropic said Sunday it will commit 5 percent of its shares to a new public benefit fund, a move the artificial-intelligence company framed as a way to direct a growing share of its value toward the public good as AI reshapes work and the economy.

The pledge, announced Oct. 18 and subject to stockholder approval, would initially place 5 percent of the company’s equity in the Anthropic Public Benefit Fund. The board could add another 2 percent for every 50 percent increase in Anthropic’s value above a set baseline it has not yet disclosed.

How the fund would work

The fund will be structured as a wholly owned LLC rather than a traditional charity. Anthropic said the format gives it room to move between kinds of giving, from large donations to established nonprofits to direct payments to what it called “specific populations.”

The company singled out the labor market as the central concern. Artificial intelligence “may generate enormous economic value, but it could also cause instability for many workers,” Anthropic wrote. “Given the pace of AI progress, bolder approaches may be needed. The fund will have the versatility to pursue them.”

Chief executive Dario Amodei has spoken repeatedly about the social and economic disruption AI could cause. The company previously committed $200 million to studying and addressing AI-driven labor market instability, according to The Wall Street Journal.

None of the Anthropic equity held by the fund may be used for lobbying or political donations, in the United States or abroad, the company said. It plans to release details on the fund’s governance and the valuation milestones in the coming months.

The sums are large even before any top-ups. According to Dealroom, a funding round in May valued Anthropic at $965 billion, which would put the initial 5 percent stake at roughly $48 billion on paper. Counting the new fund alongside the co-founders’ pledge to donate 80 percent of their holdings and an employee equity-match program used by about half the staff, the company said roughly 20 percent of its shares would be “dedicated to the public good.”

IPO timing and the OpenAI comparison

The announcement comes as Anthropic prepares an initial public offering that could be one of the largest in history. The company hosted investors at its San Francisco office last week for a day of presentations, and The Wall Street Journal previously reported the offering could raise as much as $100 billion at a valuation of about $2 trillion. Anthropic is expected to make its IPO paperwork public in the coming weeks.

The structure invites comparison with rival OpenAI. About a year ago, OpenAI completed a restructuring in which its nonprofit parent was granted a 26 percent equity stake in its for-profit subsidiary, alongside shares owned by investors including Microsoft, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Reporting based on coverage by Reuters and The Wall Street Journal.