Anthropic puts 5% of its shares into a public benefit fund, floats 'direct distributions'

Anthropic is committing 5% of its shares to a newly created Anthropic Public Benefit Fund.

Per the company's Oct 18 blog post, the 5% goes in subject to stockholder approval, and the board can add another 2% for every 50% rise in Anthropic's value above a set baseline. Combined with the co-founders' pledge to donate 80% of their equity and an employee equity-matching program, roughly 20% of Anthropic's shares are now dedicated to the public good.

The fund is a wholly owned LLC rather than a 501(c)(3), to allow different forms of giving. Anthropic said it 'might explore large donations to traditional nonprofits or direct distributions to specific populations,' citing AI's impact on the labor market, where it has already committed $200 million. The fund's equity won't be used for lobbying or political giving.

The announcement passed 1.07 million views and 7,600 likes. Elon Musk replied, 'I recommend giving the shares directly to the public.' One post calling it 'the start of Universal Basic Income' drew 1,900 likes; another (3,000 likes) joked Anthropic is so sure the unreleased Fable 5.5 will print money that it is already redistributing the proceeds.

Anthropic says it will publish the fund's governance and valuation milestones in the coming months.