Anthropic to set up a public benefit fund backed by 5% of its shares
US artificial intelligence company Anthropic has announced a "public benefit fund" to which it will commit 5% of its shares. Details on structure and governance are promised in the coming months.
Anthropic, the AI developer behind the Claude models, announced on October 18 that it is creating a "public benefit fund." The company says the vehicle will give it increased flexibility and scale to support projects for societal good.
Size of the fund
Anthropic has committed 5% of its shares to the fund, which will be a wholly-owned entity within the company. It also has the option to contribute an additional 2% for every 50% increase in Anthropic's value.
How the money could be used
The company offered only broad ideas, such as large donations to traditional nonprofits or direct distributions to specific populations. One area it singled out is the effect of AI on the job market, which Anthropic has already pledged $200 million to study.
Anthropic said that, given the pace of AI progress, bolder approaches may be needed, and that the fund will have the versatility to pursue them.
Context
The announcement comes as the AI industry faces increasingly negative public sentiment. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has described this as "fundamentally a crisis of trust."
It remains unclear who will decide which public benefit projects receive funding. The company said it will share more information about the fund's structure and governance in the coming months.
