From TechCrunch · Connie Loizos · · 1m 30s
Anthropic founders seek voting control before IPO
Anthropic's seven co-founders want special shares to maintain control after going public, despite owning just 2% each.
In brief
Anthropic's seven co-founders want special shares to maintain control after going public, despite owning just 2% each. Anthropic's founders are seeking super-voting shares to retain control after the company's IPO, a structure used by other tech leaders but unusual for a group. Originally reported by TechCrunch.
Anthropic founders want voting control
Anthropic's seven co-founders, led by CEO Dario Amodei, are asking shareholders to approve special shares giving them combined 50.1% voting power on most corporate matters.
The founders own very little
The seven co-founders reportedly own just 2% of the company apiece, including Amodei, despite wanting to control it after the IPO.
They pledged to give wealth away
Amodei announced in January that the founders have pledged to give away 80% of their wealth, citing concerns that AI-driven wealth concentration could destabilize society.
Super-voting shares aren't new
Mark Zuckerberg used super-voting shares to keep control of Meta, and Evan Spiegel did the same at Snap. What's unusual is Anthropic's group approach with seven founders sharing control.
Board structure includes safeguards
Anthropic's Long-Term Benefit Trust would still choose most board members. Founders' board seats would grow from two to three, and employees would get stock to break ties on some issues.
Anthropic valued at 1.5 trillion
Five-year-old Anthropic was valued at 965 billion dollars in May. The company was recently valued at 1.5 trillion dollars on the secondary market, and its upcoming IPO is expected to reflect that new valuation.
What to remember
Anthropic's founders are seeking super-voting shares to retain control after the company's IPO, a structure used by other tech leaders but unusual for a group.
