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Anthropic is preparing for an initial public offering (IPO) that could potentially be the largest on record. But first, CEO Dario Amodei would like to make peace with the public.
His company plans to put 5% of its shares into a new Public Benefit Fund, subject to shareholder approval. The fund could make large nonprofit donations, distribute money to charities or tackle problems such as AI-driven job losses.
At Anthropic’s latest $965 billion valuation, that stake is worth about $48 billion. And this could grow: the board said it would add another 2% of the company for every 50% increase in its valuation above a yet-to-be-disclosed baseline. The company is reportedly pursuing a $2 trillion valuation at the IPO.
In a grand gesture of billionaire one-upmanship, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk promptly offered an alternative: “I recommend giving the shares directly to the public.”
Then he raised the stakes. Musk said that in 2027 he would give one SpaceX share to every child in America, calling it “the first of many.” He provided no details about how the plan would work. There are roughly 73 million children in the US. If all of them would receive one share of SpaceX, the hand-out would be worth around $11 billion at the current valuation.
If AI ultimately creates huge amounts of wealth while disrupting jobs, we may see more initiatives like these. Prior to the latest announcement, Anthropic had already committed $200 million to studying and addressing AI’s effects on workers.
The AI boom is facing a public-opinion backlash. 64% of Americans think AI is developing too quickly, according to an October AP-NORC poll. Young people are the most skeptical, with 70% of those under 30 saying the pace is “too fast.”
The concern goes beyond speed. About 8 in 10 Americans say it is very or extremely important for the government to keep AI under human control, with a similar share prioritizing protection for workers.
Meanwhile, data centers powering AI are becoming political flashpoints themselves, as communities worry about their effects on electricity, water and the environment. A September UMass Amherst poll found just 11% supported an AI data center in their community, while 65% opposed one.
Anthropic’s IPO will test whether people are getting colder on AI as an investment, too. The expected debut has gradually slipped later, with the company now expected to list sometime after the November 3 midterm elections.
Multiple data center companies have pulled or delayed their IPOs lately, and the tech market looks bumpy. Rival OpenAI does not even intend to try to list this year.
According to Reuters, investors are now discussing a valuation of around $1.5 trillion for Anthropic, down from the reported target of $2 trillion. Slowing growth is not helping. Third-quarter revenue increased 45% from the previous quarter to $16.8 billion, but that’s a big step down from 140% growth in the second quarter.