Anthropic pledges 5% of its shares to new public benefit fund
The AI company’s promise could grow as its value rises. The fund may help support projects that address AI’s wider effects on society and the economy.
Anthropic has announced plans to put 5% of its shares into a new public benefit fund. This share of the company could grow as the company becomes more valuable.
Anthropic has promised to put 5% of its shares into a new public benefit fund. The amount could grow as the AI company becomes more valuable. Shareholders must approve the plan. The fund would provide another way to pay for work that supports the public, alongside Anthropic’s existing business activities and public benefit work.
The Anthropic Public Benefit Fund has been set up as a limited liability company (LLC) that Anthropic fully owns. Under the proposed plan, Anthropic’s board could approve giving the fund another 2% of the company’s shares each time the company’s value rises by 50% above a set starting value.
Unlike a one-time charitable donation, the fund could grow as Anthropic grows. However, extra shares would be added only if the company chooses to do so; this would not happen automatically. Anthropic has not yet shared the company value targets that would guide these decisions.
How Anthropic plans to use the fund
Anthropic says it chose an LLC instead of a traditional nonprofit organization because this gives it more freedom to decide how to share the money and resources. Possible uses include large donations to existing nonprofit organizations and direct payments to particular groups of people.
One area the company wants to address is how AI affects jobs. Anthropic has already promised $200 million to study and respond to changes in the job market. However, it says AI is developing so quickly that more ways to respond may be needed.
In its announcement, the company said: "AI may create enormous economic value, but it could also cause instability for many workers."
The fund could offer another way to deal with these challenges, but Anthropic has not confirmed which projects or programs it will support.
Daniela Amodei, President of Anthropic, wrote on LinkedIn:
"I'm excited both about the good work this will make possible and the way this approach strengthens the direct relationship between our commercial business and our public benefit mission."
About 20% of Anthropic shares set aside for public benefit
This announcement adds to promises that Anthropic’s founders and employees have already made.
When the company was founded, its co-founders promised to donate 80% of the shares they personally owned. Anthropic also has a program that matches employees’ donations of company shares. About half of its employees take part in this program.
Anthropic says that, with the new promise included, about 20% of its shares will be set aside for public benefit. This figure does not include any extra shares that might be added if the company reaches future value targets.
Anthropic already supports public benefit through its business. This work includes research into AI safety and how AI systems work, practical research in biomedicine, and lower-cost access to Claude for nonprofit organizations and scientific institutions.
Anthropic has also confirmed that none of the shares held by the new fund will be used to support lobbying or political donations, either in the United States or in other countries.
The company expects to share more information about how the fund will be managed and how its value targets will work in the coming months. It also plans to publish a public benefit report explaining its progress toward its mission.