Anthropic Pledges 5% of Shares to Fund Before IPO

Anthropic is carving out 5% of its equity for a newly created public benefit fund, a move disclosed Sunday that pushes the artificial intelligence company’s total share commitment toward social causes to roughly 20%. The decision lands weeks before Anthropic plans a massive initial public offering as soon as November.

The shares will be held by the Anthropic Public Benefit Fund. According to a company blog post, the entity will explore large donations to traditional nonprofits and direct distributions to specific populations affected by labor market disruptions caused by AI. Anthropic noted it has already committed $200 million to study artificial intelligence’s effects on employment but stated that “given the pace of AI progress, bolder approaches may be needed.”

CEO Dario Amodei and five other cofounders structured the startup as a public benefit corporation from its inception, a legal designation requiring for-profit companies to weigh social impact alongside shareholder returns. The founders have separately pledged to donate 80% of their personal wealth. An internal equity donation match program, which about half of the company’s employees participate in, allows workers to pledge stock that Anthropic matches.

Combined with those existing pledges, Sunday’s announcement brings the total share dedication to approximately 20%, according to Anthropic. That figure could climb higher if the company hits specific valuation milestones.

Locking up a fifth of outstanding equity before going public is rare. Most technology startups reserve minimal shares for philanthropy prior to listing, typically establishing foundations only after shares begin trading. Anthropic’s structure means prospective investors buying into the planned November IPO will be purchasing into a company where a significant block of ownership is permanently earmarked for non-financial objectives.

The timing aligns with intensifying regulatory scrutiny over how AI developers handle workforce displacement. Federal agencies and state legislatures have spent the past two years drafting frameworks to address automation-driven job losses, though no binding national standard currently exists.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com