AI Firm Anthropic Pledges At Least 5% Of Shares To Public-Benefit Fund Ahead Of IPO
Anthropic announced it will donate at least 5% of its equity to a public-benefit fund, aiming to address public concerns over AI's impact on jobs as it prepares for a record-breaking initial public offering.
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US-based AI lab Anthropic announced on October 19, 2026, that it would commit at least 5% of its shares to a public-benefit fund. The proportion could increase further if the company meets unspecified revenue targets. This move is seen as the latest effort by frontier AI labs to head off political backlash regarding the technology's impact on employment and society.
As both Anthropic and its rival OpenAI gear up for record-breaking Initial Public Offerings (IPOs), they face increasingly negative public reactions to their technological advances. Reports indicate that OpenAI has similarly discussed handing a 5% stake to the US government. This concern is coloring political debate in the United States; although Anthropic has been circulating a draft AI safety bill in Congress, some observers note that the proposal is perceived as no longer strong enough.