Anthropic, the company behind the Claude chatbot, said Sunday that Anthropic will commit 5% of Anthropic's shares to a new Public Benefit Fund, subject to stockholder approval. Anthropic is preparing an initial public offering as soon as November at a reported valuation of around $2 trillion. The fund's 5% stake would be worth about $100 billion at that valuation. The $100 billion would represent the value of shares, not cash held in an account.
The fund is structured as a wholly owned limited liability company rather than a nonprofit, which Anthropic says allows flexibility between types of giving. Anthropic said the fund might explore large donations to traditional nonprofits or direct distributions to specific populations. Anthropic has already committed $200 million to studying those possibilities. The board can add another 2% of shares each time Anthropic's value rises 50% above an undisclosed baseline. None of the fund's equity can be used for lobbying or political donations.
Anthropic says roughly 20% of Anthropic's shares will support public causes when co-founders' pledges to donate 80% of their equity and an employee donation matching program are included. Anthropic has not said how the fund will be taxed or what the fund will disclose publicly, as a traditional charity must. Anthropic says Anthropic will release the fund's governance structure and valuation thresholds in the coming months.
Elon Musk responded Monday by promising one SpaceX share to every child in the United States next year, less than a day after Anthropic's announcement. Musk first replied Sunday night by recommending that Anthropic give shares directly to the public instead of using a fund. Musk advocated Universal High Income rather than Universal Basic Income. Musk described the share giveaway as "the first of many".
The pledge would total about $10.5 billion for roughly 72 million children at SpaceX's current price of roughly $147 a share. An SEC filing shows that Musk held 6.42 billion SpaceX shares as of June 30. The pledged shares represent just over 1% of that holding. The giveaway also represents about the same proportion of Musk's estimated $908.5 billion fortune, which has exceeded $1 trillion several times this year.
The Treasury Department recently allowed companies and charities to donate individual company shares to Trump Accounts, tax-advantaged savings accounts for children. Donated stock is generally held for five years. Musk is likely considering Trump Accounts rather than creating a fund, a possibility Musk appeared to confirm in a reply on X.
An AP-NORC poll in late September found that 64% of U.S. adults say AI is developing too fast, while 8% say AI is developing too slowly. Anthropic's CEO wrote in January that "we are considerably closer to real danger in 2026". Anthropic releases the most powerful AI models on the market. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman accused Anthropic in April of using fear-based marketing to promote Claude Mythos.
Anthropic presented lawmakers with a draft AI safety bill two days before announcing the fund. The bill would allow the government to block models posing a foreseeable, imminent risk of killing or seriously injuring more than 50 people or causing over $1 billion in damage. The specified risks involve a bioweapon, an AI escaping human control or a cyberattack. A block would require action through the Commerce Department and a federal court order. Developers would publish safety frameworks and transparency reports for new models.
Anthropic says the bill reflects Anthropic's Advanced AI Framework, which Anthropic has promoted to lawmakers since June. CEO Dario Amodei called in June for binding rules on frontier models, the most powerful AI systems. Investor and former White House AI czar David Sacks criticized the fund announcement, saying whether placing 20% of Anthropic's equity in a limited liability company serves the public good remains to be seen.
Anthropic to Allocate 5% of Shares to Public Benefit Fund, Musk Announces SpaceX Share Giveaway
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Summary
Anthropic plans to allocate 5% of its shares to a Public Benefit Fund, potentially worth $100 billion at its $2 trillion valuation. The fund, structured as a limited liability company, will support public causes through donations or direct distributions. Elon Musk announced a SpaceX share giveaway to every U.S. child next year, valued at $10.5 billion. Anthropic also shared a draft AI safety bill with lawmakers, proposing government oversight for high-risk models. Traders are keeping an eye on altcoins to watch as major players signal long-term support level commitments.
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