Anthropic has announced plans to allocate 5% of the company's shares to a new vehicle called the "Anthropic Public Benefit Fund", aimed at goals serving the common good. The move comes as technology companies face intense scrutiny over the potential risks of artificial intelligence (AI).
According to a post on the company's blog, the 5% share transfer takes effect immediately, subject to shareholder approval. In addition, each time the company's value rises by 50%, the fund will receive an additional 2% of shares, at the discretion of the board of directors.
"With the fund structured as it is, the more Anthropic grows, the larger the share dedicated to the public benefit," the San Francisco-based company said.
Anthropic explained that technology companies typically grant escalating bonus packages to their leadership. Instead, the company decided to direct this equity toward serving the common good.
According to the company, the fund could be used to donate to traditional nonprofit organizations as well as for "direct distributions to specific populations". One of the issues the fund may target is the labor-market disruption caused by AI.
"Anthropic has committed $200 million to research and address this issue, but with the pace of AI progress, bolder approaches may be needed. The fund will have the flexibility to pursue those directions," the company said.
Anthropic is officially registered as a "public benefit corporation" in the US state of Delaware. The company said the fund will not be used for lobbying or political donations, whether domestic or foreign.
Founded in 2021 by former OpenAI employees – the team behind ChatGPT – Anthropic is preparing for what could be the largest initial public offering (IPO) in history. The company expects to list on US stock markets before the end of 2026, with analysts forecasting a valuation exceeding $2 trillion.
The company's charter requires its leadership to balance shareholder returns with the responsible development of AI. The rapid advance of AI has raised widespread concerns about possible negative consequences for society, including for the job market.
In a report published last month, consultancy McKinsey estimated that as many as 11 million US workers may need to change careers over the next decade because of AI-driven automation.
