Anthropic commits 5% of its stock to a new ‘public benefit’ fund

Anthropic said Sunday it is committing 5% of its shares to a new “public benefit” fund, with the fund’s worth potentially increasing as its shares grow in value.

The shares will go to the Anthropic Public Benefit Fund, a new entity within the company.

The fund “will have increased flexibility and scale, enabling us to pursue our mission in new ways: for example, we might explore large donations to traditional nonprofits or direct distributions to specific populations,” Anthropic said in a artificial intelligence, “given the pace of AI progress, bolder approaches may be needed.”

CEO Dario Amodei and the company’s five other cofounders established Anthropic as a public benefit corporation, a designation that for-profit companies select to balance financial goals and social impact.

They have also pledged that they will donate 80% of their wealth. An equity donation match program, in which about half of the company’s employees participate, lets workers pledge equity that Anthropic matches.

When combined with Sunday’s announcement, Anthropic said roughly 20% of its shares will be dedicated to the “public good,” plus any additional percentage that could be added if the company’s valuation reaches specific milestones.

Anthropic is planning a massive initial public offering as soon as November.