Anthropic commits 5% of its shares to a new Public Benefit Fund that can grow as the company's value rises
We’re committing a portion of Anthropic’s shares to the Anthropic Public Benefit Fund, a new wholly owned entity dedicated entirely to the public benefit. It will start off with 5% of our shares. For every 50% increase in the company’s value over a set baseline, we can contribute up to an extra 2%, subject to our board’s discretion. In total, this means that roughly 20% of Anthropic’s shares are committed to the public good. Our co-founders have already pledged to donate 80% of their equity, and around half our employees are donating a portion of their equity as part of a donation matching program we’ve run since our founding. In the post below, we share more details about our new fund.
Context
With employee and founder pledges, Anthropic says about a fifth of its shares will go to the public good, an unusual structure for a fast growing AI company.
This is a first hand announcement from Anthropic, with more detail in a post on its website. The site says the 5% commitment is subject to stockholder approval, and that the fund's governance and valuation milestones will be shared in the coming months.
Deep dive
On October 18, Anthropic posted that it is committing a portion of its shares to the Anthropic Public Benefit Fund, a new wholly owned entity dedicated entirely to the public benefit. It said the fund starts with 5% of its shares, and that for every 50% increase in the company's value over a set baseline it can contribute up to an extra 2%, at the board's discretion.
Anthropic wrote that, in total, roughly 20% of its shares are committed to the public good. It said its cofounders have pledged to donate 80% of their equity, and that around half its employees donate equity through a matching program run since its founding.
The company's website post says the 5% commitment is subject to stockholder approval. It says the fund is structured as a wholly owned LLC rather than a 501(c)(3), to allow different forms of giving, and that none of its Anthropic equity will be used for lobbying or political giving. It gives examples such as large donations to nonprofits or direct distributions to specific populations, and cites the effect of AI on workers, noting Anthropic has already committed $200 million to studying and addressing that issue.
Anthropic contrasted the structure with escalating stock awards that tech companies often give executives, saying it is directing that equity to the public benefit instead. It said it will share the fund's governance and the valuation milestones in the coming months, along with a public benefit report.
What to expect next
Watch for the stockholder vote on the 5% commitment and the promised details on the fund's governance, baseline valuation and milestones.
Also watch how investors in future funding rounds treat the committed shares, since the stake can grow as Anthropic's value rises. Its first grants or distributions, especially on AI's effect on workers, will show how the fund intends to spend.