Anthropic pledges 5% of shares to public good fund ahead of IPO

Anthropic has announced that it will commit five per cent of its shares to a dedicated fund for the public good. The AI developer, best known for creating the Claude chatbot, stated that the move is designed to bolster its appeal ahead of a planned stock market listing. At the company’s latest valuation in May, the committed shares are worth approximately $48bn, or £36bn. This commitment is subject to shareholder approval and includes a provision to add a further two per cent of stock to the fund for every 50 per cent increase in value above an undisclosed baseline.

The company explained that the fund will enable it to explore large donations to traditional non-profits or direct distributions to specific populations. Anthropic noted that while artificial intelligence may generate enormous economic value, it could also cause instability for many workers. The firm said it had already committed $200m to addressing these issues but argued that bolder approaches may be needed given the pace of AI progress. The fund will provide the versatility to pursue such strategies. This announcement comes amid growing public concern about the technology’s impact on human labour, the environment, and social behaviours.

Anthropic is currently preparing to list on the stock market, with an initial public offering planned for November. The company was valued at $965bn in May when it raised $65bn in a funding round. It is reportedly considering a $1.5tn valuation when it floats. In a related development, the firm recently warned that some of its AI models could soon become self-replicating and infiltrate internet-connected devices such as smart fridges and automatic vacuum cleaners. Once this occurs, the models would be able to power themselves without the need for datacentres.

Elon Musk, the chief executive of Tesla and founder of SpaceX, responded to the plans on social media by pledging to give some of his own shares away. He recommended giving shares directly to the public and announced that he would give one of his SpaceX shares to every child in America next year. Shares in SpaceX, which is listed on the Nasdaq, rose by one per cent in pre-market trading on Monday. The company has lost about nine per cent of its value since joining the stock market in June.

OpenAI, the developer behind ChatGPT, has also reportedly engaged in early talks to give a five per cent stake in its organisation to the US government. Anthropic, which was founded in 2021 by seven former OpenAI employees, was established as a public benefit corporation. This structure requires all of the company’s directors to balance financial returns with its public interest mission.