Anthropic Pledges 5% of Shares to Public Benefit Fund, With Potential for More

Anthropic, the creator of the AI assistant Claude, has announced the establishment of a new "Anthropic Public Benefit Fund." The company plans to commit 5 percent of its shares to this fund, which is dedicated to the public good. This contribution is set to increase as the artificial intelligence giant's market value grows.

The announcement comes as tech firms face intense scrutiny regarding the potential dangers of frontier technology. In a blog post, Anthropic stated that the 5 percent share commitment is effective immediately, pending stockholder approval. An additional 2 percent could be added at the board's discretion for every 50 percent increase in the company's value.

"Because of the way the Fund is structured, the more Anthropic grows, the larger the share of the company that can be dedicated expressly to the public good," the San Francisco-based firm explained. "It is common practice for tech companies to offer escalating compensation awards to their executives. We are instead directing that equity to the public benefit."

Anthropic indicated that the fund could be used for donations to traditional nonprofits and for "direct distributions to specific populations." The company noted that labor market disruption due to AI could be among the causes addressed by the fund. "Anthropic has already committed $200 million to studying and addressing this issue, but given the pace of AI progress, bolder approaches may be needed," the company said. "The Fund will have the versatility to pursue them."

Anthropic, officially registered as a "public benefit corporation" in Delaware, clarified that the fund would not be used for lobbying or political donations, either in the United States or overseas.

Founded in 2021 by former employees of ChatGPT creator OpenAI, Anthropic is preparing for what could be a historic public initial offering. Analysts forecast a valuation exceeding $2 trillion, with the company expected to list on the US stock market before the end of 2026. The company's charter mandates its leadership to balance shareholder returns with responsible AI development.

The rapid advancement of AI has fueled widespread anxiety about its potential negative societal effects, including impacts on the job market. A recent report by McKinsey estimated that up to 11 million American workers might need to change careers in the next decade due to AI-driven automation.