Anthropic is dedicating part of its shares to the Anthropic Public Benefit Fund. This is a new wholly owned entity, and its stake grows as the company grows. Subject to stockholder approval, 5% of Anthropic's shares will be committed now. The board may add another 2% at its discretion each time the company's value rises 50% above a set baseline.
Anthropic is a public benefit corporation, and most of Anthropic's mission work happens inside the company. That work includes AI safety and interpretability research, applied biomedical research, and discounted Claude access for nonprofits and scientific institutions. These activities have both public benefit and for-profit value, so Anthropic keeps them in the company.
The Fund will have more flexibility and scale, which lets Anthropic pursue its mission in new ways. For example, Anthropic might explore large donations to traditional nonprofits or direct distributions to specific populations.
Labor market impacts are one example. AI may create enormous economic value, but it could also destabilize work for many people. Anthropic has already committed $200 million to studying and addressing this issue. Given how fast AI is advancing, bolder approaches may be needed, and the Fund will be versatile enough to pursue them.
Anthropic is setting up the Fund as an LLC instead of a 501(c)(3) or another format. This allows adjustment between different forms of giving. None of the Anthropic equity held by the LLC will be used for lobbying or political giving, in the US or abroad.
Because of the Fund's structure, the more Anthropic grows, the larger the share of the company that can be dedicated explicitly to the public good. Tech companies commonly give executives escalating compensation awards. Anthropic is directing that equity to the public benefit instead.
This builds on existing commitments from Anthropic's co-founders and employees. At Anthropic's founding, the co-founders pledged to donate 80% of their equity. Anthropic also runs an equity donation match program, in which employees pledge equity and Anthropic matches it. Roughly half of Anthropic's employees take part. Together with this announcement, about 20% of Anthropic shares will be dedicated to the public good. More could be added if the company reaches specific valuation milestones.
In the coming months, Anthropic will share more about the Fund's structure and governance, including the valuation milestones that may increase its stake. Anthropic will also report on its progress against its mission in an upcoming public benefit report.