Anthropic's IPO allocates 5% of its shares to set up a fund, and Musk's shouting was sent directly to the public

According to Woofun AI, AI giant Anthropic has officially launched a large-scale equity allocation plan to transfer 5% of the company's shares to the new entity through the establishment of the “Anthropic Public Benefit Fund” (Anthropic Public Benefit Fund). This move marks a shift from simple technology research and development to more direct capital in dealing with the potential impact of artificial intelligence technology on social structures Experiments with resource reallocation.

On October 18, US time, Anthropic officially announced the specific operation mechanism of this fund. Its core design is to link equity rewards to company growth, but the beneficiaries shift from executives to the public interest. According to the announcement, after receiving shareholders' approval, the first batch of 5% of the shares will be directly injected into the fund. More critical is its dynamic addition clause: for every 50% increase in the company's valuation compared to an undisclosed benchmark, the board of directors has the power to decide to allocate an additional 2% of the shares.

This structural design deliberately avoids traditional technology companies' practice of using incremental equity rewards as a regular method of executive remuneration, and instead transforms it into a public welfare capital pool that automatically expands as the size of the enterprise expands. Anthropic did not disclose the exact value of this benchmark valuation, which means that the market's expectations for the future degree of equity dilution will remain uncertain, but this logical framework of “growth is public welfare” establishes a positive binding relationship between corporate value and social responsibility.

It is worth noting that this mechanism is not a one-time commitment, but rather a process of continuous accumulation over time and valuation growth, providing a sustainable source of funding for long-term public welfare investment.

Tracing Anthropic's equity commitment history, the grant was not an isolated incident, but rather a continuation and upgrade of its overall public welfare strategy. As early as the company was founded, the co-founders promised to donate 80% of their personal shares.

In addition, the company has implemented an employee equity donation matching program to encourage employees to donate part of their shares to public welfare causes, and the company matches them in equal amounts. Currently, about half of the employees participate in this plan. Including the 5% additional shares in the overall market calculation, Anthropic's share ratio for public welfare purposes has reached about 20%. If the company's valuation continues to break through the set threshold in the future, this ratio will rise further.

This multi-level equity donation system has built a three-dimensional public welfare network from founders to employees to the company's overall assets, showing that Anthropic places a very high weight on social values in the corporate governance structure.

According to data compiled by Woofun AI, Anthropic shows a different strategic mindset from traditional non-profit organizations in terms of flexibility in the use of funds. As a public benefit corporation (public benefit corporation), Anthropic has previously carried out in-house public welfare work such as safety and interpretability research, biomedical research, and discounts on Claude models for non-profit and scientific research institutions.

However, the newly established charity fund aims to break through internal operational limitations and have broader resource allocation authority, such as making large donations to traditional non-profit organizations or directly distributing resources to specific audiences. The announcement specifically stated that the labor market is the Fund's first priority area of focus. Anthropic acknowledges that while AI technology creates huge economic value, it may also cause large numbers of workers to face the risk of unstable employment. To this end, the company has committed $200 million to research and address this issue, but emphasizes that “at the rate of AI progress, bolder approaches may be needed” and that the fund will provide the necessary flexibility to drive these innovative solutions.

This concern is not out of the blue. According to a survey released by the Pew Research Center in August, 71% of American adults believe AI will reduce jobs in the US within the next two years. To ensure flexibility and efficiency in the use of funds, the fund will be established as a limited liability company (LLC) wholly owned by Anthropic rather than using the 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt non-profit organization structure under US tax law.

This choice is designed to preserve the ability to quickly adjust between different forms of donation, while Anthropic clearly promises that the fund's shares will not be used for lobbying and political donations in the US or other countries to maintain its pure charitable nature. Details of the fund's specific structure, governance methods and valuation threshold are expected to be announced over the next few months.

The establishment of this charity fund was interpreted by the market as one of Anthropic's key preparations for the upcoming IPO. According to CNBC, Anthropic has revealed to investors that its third-quarter revenue reached US$16.8 billion, and outsiders generally expect it to go public in November as soon as possible. Earlier, it was reported that Anthropic's IPO valuation is expected to fall in the $1.8 trillion to $2 trillion range. Despite adjustments in the valuation, its huge revenue scale still supports its market position as a top AI company. Lise Buyer, partner of the IPO consulting firm Class V Group, pointed out to CNBC that choosing to announce this plan on the eve of the listing was, on the one hand, to meet regulatory and market expectations for corporate social responsibility, and was a necessary part of preparation for the listing; on the other hand, “it is also beneficial in terms of image.”

If the fund can effectively assist workers in retraining or provide job transfer support when technology replaces manpower, the public and investors may evaluate it positively. However, Buyer also calmly stated that this is also a strategic move for companies to “polish their reputation” in the context of AI technology being strictly scrutinized by society.

This view reveals the delicate balance between tech giants pursuing commercial success and social responsibility. Charity funds are not only a resource allocation tool, but also an important part of brand reputation management.

Faced with Anthropic's move, Tesla (TSLA.US) and SpaceX (SPCX.US) CEO Musk expressed very different views on social networking platform X. In direct response, he said the proposal was to “issue shares directly to the public”. Musk's remarks reflect his unique view on wealth distribution and social welfare issues, that is, to bypass intermediaries and redistribute resources through more direct capital transfer methods. Compared to Anthropic's complex path of establishing specialized funds, conducting targeted research and project support, Musk advocates a more aggressive and simplified basic income for all (UBI) approach. The collision of these two views not only reflects the different understandings of social contracts in the AI era by different technology leaders, but also indicates that in the future, the industry and the public will have more intense debates and practical exploration on AI dividend distribution issues. As Anthropic gradually progresses through the IPO process, the actual operating results of its charitable fund and real impact on the job market will be a key indicator to test the success of its corporate promises.