Ahead of massive IPOs, AI companies are sketching plans to share their wealth

NEW YORK (AP) — As they steam toward massive public offerings on Wall Street, the companies at the forefront of artificial intelligence have begun sketching plans to share their wealth with the public — a commitment they say is imperative to address disruptions the technology could bring to the workforce and people's livelihoods.

Executives at Anthropic and OpenAI have long argued the technology's arrival will bring many benefits for everyday people , and they've promised that will include a share of the profits. The companies are outlining a range of proposals for distributing AI fortunes, but so far they have not resolved key questions over how they would work, how transparent they will be, and who will determine beneficiaries.

On Sunday, Anthropic said it would commit 5% of its shares to the Anthropic Public Benefit Fund, a new entity within the company, pending approval from stockholders. The stake could increase "as the company grows" in the future. The maker of AI assistant Claude said the fund "might explore" larger donations to traditional nonprofits or potentially distribute money to "specific populations."

The San Francisco-based company shared little information about the types of organizations supported by the fund and the issues they will address. One area it will not support, Anthropic said, is lobbying and political giving.

Phil Buchanan, the president of The Center for Effective Philanthropy, said he welcomed Anthropic's commitment — especially at a time when he said some billionaires are "diminishing the importance of philanthropy." But he cautioned that Anthropic should avoid the "arrogance" of previous technology barons who assumed their professional expertise would translate to philanthropic wisdom.

Buchanan recommended the fund support highly effective, existing nonprofits but said it is "hard to talk about any of this because it's all so abstract."

"I guess I'm hopeful," Buchanan said, "but I'm not going to get too excited until I see some evidence of what's actually happening."

Anthropic's pledge hinges on Wall Street plans

Anthropic, which was valued at close to $1 trillion earlier this year , is preparing for an initial public offering as soon as next month that is shaping up as one of the biggest ever.

Once a company is public, donations might be made through the selling of future shares, or potentially turning to cash dividends in the future, explained Jay R. Ritter, director of The IPO Initiative at the University of Florida's Warrington College of Business. The specifics on how charitable donations will be made through Anthropic's fund are not clear yet.