On October 18, Anthropic announced it will commit 5% of its shares to the newly created Anthropic Public Benefit Fund, subject to stockholder approval.
The fund has two key features. First, its stake can grow with the company: for every 50% increase in valuation above a set baseline, the board may add another 2% of shares. Second, its structure is flexible: the fund is a wholly owned LLC of Anthropic, not a traditional 501(c)(3) nonprofit, so it can make large donations to nonprofits or distribute funds directly to specific populations.
At the same time, equity held by the fund may not be used for lobbying or political giving, either in the US or abroad. Combined with the founders' pledge to donate 80% of their holdings and an employee equity-match program, Anthropic says roughly 20% of its shares will be dedicated to the public good.
For context, Anthropic previously committed $200 million to studying AI's impact on the job market. The announcement comes as it prepares for an IPO: a $65 billion round in May valued the company at $965 billion, which puts the 5% stake at roughly $48 billion. The company says it will share more details on the fund's governance in the coming months.
