Anthropic commits 5% of shares to new public benefit fund that could address AI job disruption

Anthropic, the creator of the AI chatbot Claude, announced on October 18 that it would allocate 5% of its shares to a new public benefit fund. This move aims to provide the company with greater flexibility and scale to make donations in the "public good". The fund will be established as a wholly owned limited liability company, with an additional 2% of Anthropic's shares to be added to the fund each time the company's value increases by 50% above a undisclosed baseline.

This development comes as Anthropic prepares for one of the largest IPOs in history under a public benefit corporation structure, which requires the company to consider broader interests beyond just profit. The AI lab has emphasized that AI could pose "catastrophic or existential risks to humanity" and has dedicated roughly 80 pages of its 261-page prospectus to outlining risk factors.

The Public Benefit Fund could support a range of initiatives, such as nonprofit donations, direct distributions to specific populations, and efforts to address AI's impact on the labor market. Anthropic's co-founder Elon Musk, who leads rival AI company xAI, suggested on X that the shares should be given directly to the public.

The new fund will not be used for lobbying or political giving in the United States or abroad. As policymakers consider greater oversight of artificial intelligence, Anthropic is also taking steps to shape how the technology is regulated. Combined with the co-founders' pledge to donate 80% of their equity and an employee donation matching program, roughly 20% of Anthropic's shares will be dedicated to public purposes, excluding any additional shares added later.

Anthropic plans to disclose more details about the fund's governance, structure, and valuation thresholds in the coming months. The company has also announced a public-benefit report to detail its progress toward its mission.