Anthropic to commit 5% stake to new 'public benefit fund'

AI company Anthropic, which makes Claude, said on Sunday that it plans to put 5 percent of its shares into a new public benefit fund. This fund would give the company more freedom and resources to donate money for the public good.

The proposed fund would be a limited liability company fully owned by Anthropic. At the board's discretion, it could receive another 2 percent of Anthropic's shares for every 50 percent increase in the company's value above a starting value that has not yet been announced.

The move comes as Anthropic prepares for what could be one of the largest initial public offerings (IPOs) in history. The company plans to go public as a public benefit corporation. This type of company must consider certain wider interests as well as making profits for investors.

The announcement also comes amid concerns about AI safety. These concerns have grown following security breaches involving AI systems and serious warnings from industry leaders that uncontrolled AI development could cause severe harm, or even threaten humanity's existence.

Anthropic has presented itself as an AI company that puts safety first. It has warned that AI could pose "catastrophic or existential risks to humanity." In the main section of its 261-page IPO prospectus, about 80 pages discuss possible risks.

In a blog post, the company said its Public Benefit Fund could support several kinds of projects. These could include donations to nonprofit groups, direct payments to specific groups of people, and efforts to deal with AI's effects on jobs and the labor market.

Elon Musk, who runs SpaceXSI, a rival of Anthropic, said on X that he had recommended "giving the shares directly to the public".

"Next year, I will give one of my SpaceX shares to every kid in America. This will be the first of many," Musk wrote in a post early on Monday. As of June, he owned about 6.42 billion shares in the company.

Anthropic named the possible effects of AI on workers as one area the new fund could focus on. This builds on a commitment the company announced earlier to spend $200 million studying and addressing changes to the labor market caused by AI.

Companies around the world have cut thousands of jobs after investing heavily in AI. Many of them, especially technology companies, have said that using AI more widely has helped them work more efficiently.

International Monetary Fund (IMF) research shows that AI will change about 40 percent of jobs by helping workers do their work, reducing the level of work they do, or eliminating their jobs, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said last week. She said the figure could reach 60 percent in advanced economies.

NO POLITICAL DONATIONS

The AI company said that none of the shares held by its fund would be used to support lobbying or make political donations in the United States or other countries.

US policymakers are considering stronger oversight of AI. At the same time, companies are increasing their efforts to influence the rules that will govern the technology.

Anthropic's plan, combined with a promise by its co-founders to donate 80 percent of their shares and a program that matches employee donations, means about 20 percent of the company's shares will be set aside for public benefit. This figure does not include any additional shares that may be added later.

Anthropic said it would share more details in the coming months about how the fund will be managed, how it will be structured, and what increases in the company's value would allow the fund to receive more shares.

The company also plans to publish a report on the public benefits it provides and the progress it makes toward its mission.