Anthropic plans fund for workers threatened by AI, Musk counters with SpaceX shares for children
Anthropic is launching a new public benefit fund that will also look into direct payments to workers at risk of losing their jobs. Elon Musk says the company should just give the shares straight to the public.
Anthropic plans to put five percent of its shares into a new “Anthropic Public Benefit Fund.” Shareholders still have to approve it. Once they do, the fund will either make large donations to traditional nonprofits or explore direct payouts to “certain populations.” The main focus is disruption in the job market. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has repeatedly warned about social and economic upheaval from fast-moving AI systems. The company already committed $200 million to research these labor market effects. Given how quickly AI is advancing, “bolder approaches” may now be needed, according to the announcement. For every 50 percent the company’s valuation rises above a set baseline, the fund could receive another two percent of shares. Anthropic pitches the fund as the opposite of the growth-linked stock packages tech companies usually hand their executives. The co-founders pledged 80 percent of their shares when they started the company, and employees have a donation-matching program. Anthropic says all of this together puts about 20 percent of the company’s equity toward “the public good.” A subsidiary instead of a nonprofit keeps Anthropic in charge ahead of its IPO The legal setup, however, shows that Anthropic stays in control. Instead of creating a tax-exempt nonprofit, the company is setting up the fund as a wholly owned LLC subsidiary. Anthropic says this gives it more flexibility in how it hands out money. It also promises not to use the capital for lobbying or political donations, either in the US or abroad. The promised share top-ups aren’t locked in either. According to the announcement, they’re at the board’s discretion. Anthropic hasn’t said which valuation milestones would trigger them or how the fund will be governed.
