Anthropic plans to put 5% of its shares into a fund that could make large gifts to nonprofits
The AI company announced the Anthropic Public Benefit Fund on Oct. 18. Stockholders still have to approve it, the fund is a company LLC rather than a charity, and no grants or rules for giving have been announced.
San Francisco. Anthropic, the artificial intelligence company that makes the Claude models, said on Oct. 18 that it is committing part of its stock to a new entity, the Anthropic Public Benefit Fund. Subject to stockholder approval, 5% of the company's shares go to the fund now, and the board may add 2% more for every 50% rise in the company's value above a set baseline.
The company said the fund could pursue its mission in new ways, and gave two examples of what that might mean: large gifts to traditional nonprofits, or payments made directly to specific groups of people. It named no recipients and gave no dollar value for the shares.
Workers who may lose ground to AI
The one area the announcement singles out is the effect of AI on jobs. The company wrote that AI may create enormous economic value but could also cause instability for many workers, and that it has already committed $200 million to studying and addressing the problem. Given how fast AI is moving, it said, bolder approaches may be needed, and the fund will be able to take them.
Anthropic is a public benefit corporation, and it said most of its public benefit work, such as safety research and discounts on Claude for nonprofits and scientific institutions, will stay inside the company because it also has commercial value.
Not a charity, and no grants yet
The fund is being set up as a limited liability company wholly owned by Anthropic, not as a 501(c)(3) organization or another nonprofit form. The company said the choice lets it move between different forms of giving, and that none of the shares held by the fund will be used for lobbying or political giving, in the United States or abroad.
The company also pointed to earlier pledges. Its co-founders pledged at the company's founding to give away 80% of their equity, and Anthropic matches shares that employees pledge to charity; it said about half of its employees take part. Counting the new fund, it said, roughly 20% of its shares will be dedicated to the public good.
Anthropic said it will describe the fund's structure and governance in the coming months, including the valuation milestones that could enlarge its stake. TechCrunch noted that the company has not yet said who will decide which causes the fund pays for.
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501c3.help wrote this story from the sources listed with it, not from material an organization sent. Our editors approved it on Oct. 20, 2026. Stories in The Nonprofit Herald are free, and nothing is asked in return. Editorial rules.
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