NewzAnthropic said the fund could support initiatives that include efforts to address artificial intelligence's impact on the labor market. Anthropic said Sunday it is committing 5% of its shares to a new “public benefit” fund, with the fund's worth potentially increasing as its shares grow in value. The shares will go to the Anthropic Public Benefit Fund, a new entity within the company.
The fund “will have increased flexibility and scale, enabling us to pursue our mission in new ways: for example, we might explore large donations to traditional nonprofits or direct distributions to specific populations,” Anthropic said in a blog post. It gave labor market impacts as an example, saying that while it has already committed $200 million to study the effects of artificial intelligence, “given the pace of AI progress, bolder approaches may be needed.” CEO Dario Amodei and the company’s five other cofounders established Anthropic as a public benefit corporation, a designation that for-profit companies select to balance financial goals and social impact. They have also pledged that they will donate 80% of their wealth.
An equity donation match program, in which about half of the company’s employees participate, lets workers pledge equity that Anthropic matches. When combined with Sunday’s announcement, Anthropic said roughly 20% of its shares will be dedicated to the “public good,” plus any additional percentage that could be added if the company’s valuation reaches specific milestones. Anthropic is planning a massive initial public offering as soon as November.
Anthropic said none of the equity held by the fund would be used for lobbying or political contributions in the US or abroad. (AFP pic)SAN FRANCISCO: Anthropic said on Sunday it will commit 5% of its shares to a new public benefit fund, subject to stockholder approval, with the stake potentially increasing as the artificial intelligence giant's valuation grows.The proposed fund would be established as a wholly owned limited liability company and would receive an additional 2% of Anthropic's shares, at the board's discretion, for every 50% increase in the company's value above a baseline that has yet to be disclosed.The Anthropic Public Benefit Fund could support initiatives including nonprofit donations, direct distributions to specific populations and efforts to address AI’s impact on workers.The company said none of the equity held by the fund would be used for lobbying or political contributions in the US or abroad.The maker of the Claude AI assistant is planning one of the biggest IPOs in history as a public benefit corporation, a legal structure that requires management to consider certain broader interests as well as turning a profit for investors.The company, which has positioned itself as safety-first, has often highlighted risks associated with its AI models, most recently in its IPO prospectus, which it said could exhibit "self-preserving behaviours", Reuters reported exclusively in September.Taken together with the new fund, roughly 20% of Anthropic's shares would be dedicated to public purposes, excluding any additional shares that could be allocated if it reaches future valuation milestones.Anthropic said it would disclose further details in coming months on the fund's governance, structure and the valuation thresholds that could expand its ownership stake. It also plans to publish a public-benefit report detailing progress toward its mission.
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