Anthropic Plans 5% Stake for Public Benefit Fund as Musk Objects

Anthropic plans to place 5% of its shares in a wholly owned Public Benefit Fund, subject to stockholder approval, with the board able to add 2% for each 50% increase in the company’s value. The LLC structure is intended to give the fund flexibility to support public-benefit projects, including nonprofit donations or direct payments to groups affected by AI-driven changes to the labor market; Anthropic has already pledged $200 million for research on those impacts. The company says the new commitment, alongside earlier founder and employee equity-giving commitments, could bring shares dedicated to public benefit to roughly 20%, though future additions are not guaranteed. The fund will not use its equity for political contributions or lobbying. Elon Musk argued that shares should instead be distributed directly to the public, but did not explain how such a distribution would work.