Anthropic to shift some shares into new ‘public good’ fund

ANTHROPIC said it plans to put 5 per cent of its shares into a new so-called public benefit fund that allows it to make donations that can address “the public good”, including mitigating artificial intelligence’s impact on the job market.

The announcement comes as the fast-growing AI startup prepares for an initial public offering expected to be one of the biggest ever.

At the same time, Anthropic is seeking to address rising concerns about AI safety and its potential unintended impact – from hacking to mass job losses – as companies move to adopt AI agents that can supplant human labour.

The new Anthropic Public Benefit Fund could allow the company to pursue its mission “in new ways”, such as using some of the money to address “labour market impacts”, according to the statement.

Warnings about catastrophic AI scenarios that critics say could put humanity at risk have focused attention on AI safety in recent weeks, including at top political levels.

US President Donald Trump hosted Silicon Valley leaders, including Anthropic chief executive officer Dario Amodei, at the White House in September.

With Trump rejecting the idea of new federal regulations, he and the executives agreed on a framework for AI firms to have outside auditors assess safety risks of AI models and put stronger internal controls in place.

Anthropic, the company behind the Claude large language model, may start formally marketing its IPO as soon as the week of Nov 9, which would put it on track to begin trading before the US Thanksgiving holiday, people familiar with the matter said in early October.

Anthropic said the new fund will be, subject to approval, a wholly owned LLC – rather than a non-profit – and will grow as the company grows.

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None of the Anthropic equity held by the LLC will be used for lobbying or political giving in the US or abroad, according to the statement.

Public benefit funds are a new type of “impact” investment fund designed to go beyond the goal of financial returns to also make a positive social or environmental impact.

“Subject to stockholder approval, 5 per cent of Anthropic’s shares will be committed today, with an additional 2 per cent added at the board’s discretion for every 50 per cent increase in the company’s value above a set baseline,” the company said.

Anthropic recently presented its own draft bill to US lawmakers for how to regulate AI safety and security, suggesting the government could block the release of an AI model if it could risk killing or injuring more than 50 people or causing more than US$1 billion in damages.

Among those warning about AI risks are International Monetary Fund managing director Kristalina Georgieva, who said the technology could deliver “a slow-moving tsunami” that hollows out the low-paying job market.

Anthropic has spent much of the year in a fight with the US government that has cast a spotlight on its broader national impacts after it was labelled a supply chain risk for attempting to limit some Pentagon and other potential uses of its technology, despite previously offering its AI to develop autonomous drone technology and for other classified uses to assist military combat.

Tensions between the White House and the company have eased in recent weeks. BLOOMBERG