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Anthropic Commits 5% of Its Shares to a New Public Benefit Fund

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Hi everyone, it's Shii-chan!

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Today I'm sharing big news from Anthropic: a plan to direct part of the company's own shares toward the public good.

What was announced?

Anthropic News published "Investing in the public benefit."

Anthropic is committing a portion of its shares to a new entity, the Anthropic Public Benefit Fund.

  • Subject to stockholder approval, 5% of shares are committed now
  • The board may add 2% for every 50% increase in company value above a set baseline

So the Fund's stake grows as the company grows.

Why it matters

Anthropic is a Public Benefit Corporation, and it already runs most of its mission work inside the company. Examples from the post:

  • AI safety and interpretability research
  • Applied biomedical research
  • Discounts on Claude for nonprofits and scientific institutions

The post says these activities have both public benefit and for-profit value.

A separate Fund offers more flexibility and scale than work done inside the company.

What changes

The Fund gives Anthropic a vehicle to direct resources outside the company. Possible uses mentioned in the post:

  • Large donations to traditional nonprofits
  • Direct distributions to specific populations

The post highlights the labor market in particular: AI may create large economic value but could also cause instability for many workers. Anthropic has already committed $200 million to studying and addressing this, and says bolder approaches may be needed. The Fund could pursue them.

Dive Deep

Here are more details on how it is set up.

Legal structure

The Fund is a wholly-owned LLC, not a 501(c)(3) or similar, so that giving can be adjusted between forms. Anthropic also states that none of the Anthropic equity held by the LLC will be used for lobbying or political giving, in the US or abroad.

Executive compensation

Tech companies often offer escalating executive compensation awards. Anthropic says it is directing that equity to the public benefit instead.

Combined with earlier commitments

  • Co-founders pledged to donate 80% of their equity at founding
  • Employees can pledge equity that the company matches, and about half of employees participate

Together with this announcement, roughly 20% of shares will be dedicated to the public good, plus any additional percentage if valuation milestones are reached.

In the coming months, Anthropic plans to share more about the Fund's structure and governance, including those valuation milestones. A public benefit report on progress is also planned.

Wrap-up

  • 5% of shares committed to the Anthropic Public Benefit Fund, subject to stockholder approval
  • The board may add 2% for every 50% increase in company value above a baseline
  • The Fund is a wholly-owned LLC, and its equity won't be used for lobbying or political giving
  • With founder pledges and employee matching, about 20% of shares go to the public good
  • Details on structure, governance, and milestones are coming in the next few months

This one is for anyone interested in how AI companies handle money and what AI means for workers.

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