Anthropic To Commit 5% Stake To New Public Benefit Fund

Anthropic, the company behind the artificial intelligence tool Claude, says it will give 5% of its shares to a new Public Benefit Fund. The fund aims to help the company support projects that benefit the public.

The company announced on Sunday that the fund would be set up as a limited liability company fully owned by Anthropic. Its board could give the fund another 2% of the company's shares for every 50% increase in Anthropic's value above a starting value that has not yet been announced.

The move comes as Anthropic gets ready for a possible initial public offering (IPO), when a company first sells its shares to the public. The sale could be one of the biggest in history. Anthropic is a public benefit corporation, a type of company that must consider the wider public interest as well as making money for investors.

Anthropic has presented itself as an AI company that puts safety first. In its 261-page document for investors, the company used about 80 pages of the main section to discuss risks. It warned that AI could pose “catastrophic or existential risks to humanity”.

In a blog post, Anthropic said the fund could give money to non-profit groups, make direct payments to certain groups of people, and support projects that deal with AI's effects on jobs and the job market.

The company named the effect of AI on workers as one of the fund's main priorities. This builds on its earlier promise to spend $200 million studying and addressing changes to the job market caused by AI.

Elon Musk, who leads the competing AI company xAI, criticised the plan in a post on X. He said he had recommended “giving the shares directly to the public.”

The announcement comes as companies around the world cut thousands of jobs after spending heavily on AI. Many companies, especially technology firms, say they are making these cuts because AI can help them work more efficiently.

Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), said last week that IMF research showed AI could change, reduce the level of, or eliminate about 40% of jobs. She said this figure could rise to 60% in advanced economies.

Anthropic said the fund would not use any of its shares to support lobbying or political donations in the United States or any other country.

The announcement comes as US policymakers consider stricter rules for artificial intelligence. Companies in the AI industry are also making greater efforts to influence how the technology is regulated.

Together with a promise by Anthropic's co-founders to donate 80% of their shares and a programme that matches employees' donations, about 20% of the company's shares will be set aside for public benefit. This total does not include any extra shares that may be given to the fund in the future.

Anthropic said it would share more details in the coming months about how the fund will be managed, how it will be set up, and what increases in the company's value could lead to it receiving more shares.

The company also plans to publish a report explaining what it has done to achieve its public-benefit mission.

Faridah Abdulkadiri