Ahead of massive IPOs, AI companies are sketching plans to share their wealth

NEW YORK (AP) — As they prepare to sell shares to the public on Wall Street, leading artificial intelligence companies are beginning to make plans to share their wealth with the public. They say this is important because the technology could change jobs and threaten people's ability to earn a living.

Leaders at Anthropic and OpenAI have long said AI will bring many benefits to ordinary people. They have also promised that people will share in the profits. The companies are considering different ways to distribute the wealth created by AI. But important questions remain about how the plans would work, how openly the companies would share information, and who would decide who receives the money.

On Sunday, Anthropic said it would set aside 5% of its shares for the Anthropic Public Benefit Fund, a new organization within the company. Stockholders must approve the plan. The share could grow as the company grows. The maker of the AI assistant Claude said the fund might consider making larger donations to existing nonprofit groups or giving money directly to certain groups of people.

The San Francisco-based company gave few details about which organizations the fund would support or what problems it would work on. Anthropic said the fund would not support lobbying or political donations.

Phil Buchanan, president of The Center for Effective Philanthropy, said he welcomed Anthropic's promise. He said this was especially important at a time when some billionaires were, in his view, making philanthropy seem less important. But he warned Anthropic against acting like earlier technology leaders who assumed that success in business also meant they knew how to give money wisely.

Buchanan recommended that the fund support existing nonprofit groups that have shown they work well. But he said it was difficult to judge the plan because it was still so unclear.

“I guess I’m hopeful,” Buchanan said, “but I’m not going to get too excited until I see some evidence of what’s actually happening.”

Anthropic's promise depends on its plans for Wall Street

Anthropic was valued at close to $1 trillion earlier this year. It is preparing for a stock market debut, possibly as soon as next month. The sale is shaping up to be one of the biggest ever.

Jay R. Ritter, director of The IPO Initiative at the University of Florida's Warrington College of Business, explained that once a company sells shares on the stock market, it might donate money by selling shares it owns in the future. It could also use cash payments from company profits. But it is not yet clear how Anthropic's fund will make its donations.

Ritter said making the announcement now helps potential investors understand what they are buying when they purchase shares.

Anthropic has already promised $200 million to study the wider effects of AI on the economy. Anthropic said that, together with Sunday's announcement, about 20% of its shares will be set aside for the public good. That amount could rise if the company's value reaches certain goals.

When Anthropic announced the fund, it pointed to the effects of AI on jobs as one example of the issues it might address.

“AI may generate enormous economic value, but it could also cause instability for many workers,” Anthropic said in a blog post on Sunday. The company said the fund would be flexible enough to try stronger or more unusual approaches if needed to help reduce those effects. Anthropic said it would provide more information about how the fund is organized and managed in the coming months.

In a May interview with The Associated Press, Anthropic president Daniela Amodei said she expected the company's success to lead to more support for research into diseases. She also hoped it would help ensure that people around the world could share in the wealth that AI might create.

Some critics have questioned the companies' promises.

“Anthropic is playing games here,” Gary Marcus, a longtime AI expert and professor emeritus at New York University, wrote on social media Sunday. “Trying to curry public favor while still holding control and resisting disclosure is annoying.”

AI companies are considering different ways to share money for public benefit

Anthropic and OpenAI are both set up as public benefit corporations. This type of company must work toward a social good as well as make a profit.

The OpenAI Foundation, the nonprofit organization that controls OpenAI, promised earlier this year to expand its grantmaking work with a commitment of $1 billion.

Separately, OpenAI in April proposed creating a “Public Wealth Fund” that would own a share of the growth created by AI across many companies. OpenAI said the fund could invest in a small number of assets and then give the earnings directly to people, whether or not they invest in financial markets. OpenAI plans to sell shares to the public next year.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has also spoken with lawmakers from both major political parties about giving the public ownership shares in AI companies.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, who has generally avoided traditional charitable giving, promised as recently as Monday to donate some shares in his own company.

During the boom in personal computers, people such as Michael Dell and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates started private foundations to manage their charitable giving. Today, some Silicon Valley leaders, including Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, have instead chosen limited-liability companies, or LLCs. Anthropic is using this type of organization for its public benefit fund.

Experts say an LLC gives its owners more control. Unlike a foundation, an LLC does not have to follow the same spending rules. Foundations must give away at least 5% of the value of their funds each year.

“They have a lot more flexibility and latitude in how to use the resources they put into the fund,” said Katherina Rosqueta, founding executive director of the University of Pennsylvania's Center for High Impact Philanthropy.

Brian Mittendorf, an accounting professor at Ohio State University, said LLCs can do things that traditional charities cannot, such as giving money directly to individuals. But if the money is not given as traditional charity, it can be harder to tell how the public benefits, he said.

According to Rosqueta and Mittendorf, LLC owners also do not get the same tax benefits as traditional charities. Anthropic's promise does not immediately qualify for a tax deduction. The company can claim a deduction only after the donated shares are transferred to a public charity. LLCs also face fewer requirements to share information with the public.

Overall, Mittendorf said, Anthropic's announcement promises wider benefits but does not yet explain exactly what they will be. He said the plan shows an intention to take action in the future rather than making a change right away.

AP Philanthropy editor Glenn Gamboa contributed from Cleveland, and Grantham-Philips contributed from Chicago.

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