Anthropic proposes giving 5% of its shares to a public benefit fund

Anthropic proposed giving 5% of its shares to a public benefit fund on October 18, subject to shareholder approval. The fund could support nonprofits or make direct payments to selected groups, with AI’s toll on workers among its stated targets.

As The Rundown reported, 5% of Anthropic’s May valuation of $965 billion comes to roughly $48 billion. That figure estimates the value of the proposed stake. How much money would become available for payments remains unclear.

How the fund would work

The Anthropic Public Benefit Fund is a limited liability company wholly owned by Anthropic. The company says the fund’s equity will not finance lobbying or political giving.

For each 50% increase in Anthropic’s value above an undisclosed baseline, the board could choose to add another 2% of the company’s shares to the fund. Anthropic presents that structure as an answer to growing executive pay packages in tech.

Anthropic also counts roughly 20% of its shares as earmarked for public good across the new proposal, founders’ pledges covering 80% of their holdings, and matched employee donations. That total spans several commitments, including the fund allocation still awaiting approval.

The focus on workers builds on Anthropic’s $200 million commitment to study job disruption and test policy responses, reported by the Associated Press. AP also reported that CEO Dario Amodei suggested universal basic income if displacement becomes lasting.

Why it matters

Universal basic income and other public benefits have been floated as ways to share the wealth AI could create. Anthropic’s proposal and OpenAI’s foundation are among the clearest signs yet of labs committing equity to that broader goal. The potential is substantial, but an ownership stake still needs a path to support people can spend or receive through services.

The two efforts are at different stages. On October 28, 2025, OpenAI announced a completed recapitalization that left the nonprofit OpenAI Foundation controlling its commercial business. The foundation’s equity was valued at about $130 billion at that announcement. Its initial $25 billion commitment focused on health and AI resilience.

OpenAI has also announced concrete grants. In an update on June 4, 2026, the foundation said it had awarded $40.5 million to 208 U.S. community organizations in December 2025. It also announced another $9.5 million to complete its initial $50 million commitment. Recipients included groups working on healthcare access and medical debt.

On October 1, 2026, the foundation selected 163 organizations to receive $50 million, with full payment targeted before the end of 2026. That deadline gives recipients and the public a date against which to judge delivery.

What the money pays for matters too. Health research and community services can bring public benefits while addressing different needs from income support. For a worker facing lost wages, the size, timing and frequency of a payment would determine how much help it provides. Anthropic has yet to specify who would qualify or when payments could begin.

Because Anthropic owns the fund, the rules for selecting beneficiaries and overseeing spending deserve close attention. The board can also decide whether future valuation gains produce more equity for the fund. Anthropic has promised further governance details.

Company growth could expand the fund’s resources. Its ability to help people will also depend on the value of its shares and how it can turn them into spendable money. The $48 billion estimate leaves open what the fund could spend each year or pay any household.

Anthropic can make its commitment easier to judge by publishing spending plans, recipients and payment dates. Until the fund delivers support people can see, the gap between a large equity pledge and an actual public benefit will leave room to view it as a convenient PR play.