AI developer Anthropic has committed at least five per cent of its shares to what it calls the Anthropic Public Benefit Fund, a subsidiary company that it claims will allow it to “pursue our mission in new ways”.
Subject to shareholder approval, the company said on Sunday that it will commit five per cent of its shares “today”, with an additional two per cent added at the board’s discretion for every 50 per cent increase in the company’s value above a set baseline.
Anthropic has not yet specified this baseline.
The Anthropic Public Benefit Fund will be a limited-liability company, rather than a charitable organisation formatted as a 501(c)(3), which Anthropic said will “give adjustability between different forms of giving.” It added that the fund will not be used for political lobbying in the US or elsewhere.
As examples of the fund’s activities, Anthropic said it “might explore” large donations to traditional nonprofits, or direct distributions to “specific populations”. For instance, it said, if AI causes major disruptions to labour markets, the fund will have the versatility to pursue “bolder approaches” to this problem than the company itself.
The equity provided to the fund builds on commitments Anthropic’s co-founders and employees have already made, it added. When it was founded, Anthropic’s co-founders pledged to donate 80 per cent of their equity holdings. It also operates an equity donation matching scheme which it claims around half of its employees participate in.
In total, around 20 per cent of the company’s shares will now be “dedicated to the public good”, the company claimed.
It will release more information on the fund’s structure and governance, including valuation milestones, in the coming months.
Major AI companies including Anthropic have faced controversy in recent months over a series of cyberattacks conducted by leading labs’ agents during testing. Anthropic and its major competitor OpenAI are now also facing investigations by the US Federal Trade Commission over potential dangers to consumers.
