Anthropic is seeking stockholder approval to allocate 5% of its shares to the Anthropic Public Benefit Fund, with further allocations possible as the AI company’s value rises.
The proposed fund and earlier pledges by Anthropic’s co-founders and employees would together dedicate roughly 20% of its shares to public benefit, the company said in an Oct. 18 announcement. The fund’s initial stake would account for 5%, rather than the full combined amount.
Anthropic said its co-founders pledged to donate 80% of their equity holdings when the company was founded. About half of its employees participate in a program that matches the equity they pledge, the company said.
The board could contribute another 2% of shares at its discretion for each 50% increase in Anthropic’s value above a set baseline. Anthropic has not disclosed the baseline or the valuation milestones. The initial 5% commitment remains subject to stockholder approval.
Anthropic said it chose a wholly owned limited liability company for the fund to give it flexibility in distributing support. The fund could provide grants to nonprofits or make distributions directly to groups of people. Anthropic said it would not use equity held by the fund for lobbying or political giving in the United States or abroad.
The company identified workers facing AI-related labor-market impacts as potential beneficiaries. Separately, it said it had already committed $200 million to studying and addressing those impacts.
Anthropic presented the proposed allocation as an alternative to the escalating equity awards it said technology companies commonly give executives. Much of its existing work tied to its mission takes place within the company, including AI safety research, biomedical research and Claude discounts for nonprofit and scientific organizations. Anthropic said those activities also have commercial value.
Anthropic said it will provide more details about the fund’s governance and valuation milestones in the coming months. It also plans to publish a public benefit report.
