Anthropic announced on October 18 that it will seek shareholder approval to commit 5% of its shares to a new public-benefit fund, with that stake potentially growing as the company gains value.
The proposal is not yet a completed transfer because the initial allocation depends on approval from shareholders. Anthropic stated that its board could contribute an additional 2 percentage points of shares for every 50% increase in the company’s valuation above a baseline. The company has not disclosed what that baseline is.
The fund would operate as a wholly owned limited liability company, which Anthropic says will give it flexibility to support public-benefit work in different ways. Possible uses include large donations to nonprofit groups or direct distributions to specific groups, with job market disruption from artificial intelligence cited as one area of concern. The company says it has already committed $200 million to studying and addressing the effects of artificial intelligence on workers.
Anthropic estimates that about 20% of its shares would be dedicated to public benefit when combined with founder pledges and an employee stock-matching program. It says the fund’s shares will not be used for lobbying or political donations. The company plans to provide more details on governance and valuation milestones in the coming months.