Anthropic has said it will commit 5% of its shares to a fund for the “public good”, as the artificial intelligence developer behind chatbot Claude looks to bolster its appeal ahead of its stock market listing. The company announced it would pledge the shares, worth around $48bn (£36bn) at its last valuation in May, subject to shareholder approval. You will add an additional 2% of your shares to the fund for every 50% increase in their value above an undisclosed base. The fund will allow Anthropic to “explore large grants to traditional nonprofits or direct distributions to specific populations,” the company said. The move comes amid growing public nervousness about AI, from the threat to human work to the impact on the environment and its influence on social behaviors. “AI can generate enormous economic value, but it could also cause instability for many workers,” Anthropic wrote in a blog post. He said that while he had already committed $200 million to address the problem, “given the pace of AI progress, bolder approaches may be needed. The fund will have the versatility to implement them.” 65 billion dollars in a financing round. The company is reportedly eyeing a valuation of $1.5 trillion when it lists on the stock market, with an initial public offering planned for November. Last week, Anthropic said some of its AI models could soon become “self-replicating” and find ways to infiltrate Internet-connected devices such as smart refrigerators and automatic vacuum cleaners. Elon Musk plans to “give one of my SpaceX shares to every child in America.” Photograph: Gonzalo Fuentes/ReutersHe said that once this happens, the models will be able to work on their own without the need for data centers. Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and founder of SpaceX, responded to Anthropic’s plans to create a public benefit fund on social media by pledging to donate some of his own shares. “I recommend giving the shares directly to the public,” he wrote. “This is what I will do.” He later announced: “Next year, I will give one of my SpaceX shares to every child in America. This will be the first of many.” The company has lost about 9% of its value since entering the stock market in June. OpenAI, the developer behind ChatGPT, has also reportedly entered initial talks to give up a 5% stake in its organization to the US government. Anthropic, which was founded in 2021 by seven former OpenAI employees, was established as a public benefit corporation. It means that all company directors must balance financial benefits with their public interest mission.
