Anthropic announces public benefit fund, committing 5% of shares

on your screen. Coventry Direct, redefining insurance. >> WELCOME BACK. A BIG ANNOUNCEMENT BY ANTHROPIC TODAY SAYING THEY WILL COMMIT 5% OF THEIR PRE IPO SHARES TO A NEW PUBLIC BENEFIT FUND. KATE ROONEY HAS MORE IN TODAY'S TECH CHECK. KATE, HOW WOULD THIS WORK? >> HEY, KELLY. >> WELL, THIS IS AN UNUSUAL PART OF ANTHROPIC'S UPCOMING MEGA IPO. THE AI GIANT IS SETTING ASIDE A PORTION OF EQUITY FOR A NEW CHARITABLE FUND. SO WHAT WE KNOW RIGHT NOW IS IT'S GOING TO START WITH A 5% STAKE, WHICH COULD BE WORTH AT LEAST 50 BILLION, UP TO $100 BILLION IF THIS COMPANY DOES DEBUT AT AROUND $2 TRILLION, WHICH WOULD BE AT THE HIGH END OF WHAT WE'VE BEEN HEARING, IT IS STILL ON TRACK FOR NOVEMBER. AND THAT LISTING. ACCORDING TO MULTIPLE SOURCES, ANTHROPIC DID HOLD AN INVESTOR DAY LAST WEEK. AS PART OF THAT, THE COMPANY DOES SAY IT PLANS TO CONTRIBUTE MORE EQUITY AS ITS VALUATION GROWS, SO THEY NOTE A 2% INCREASE FOR THAT PUBLIC FUND ON EVERY 50% JUMP IN VALUATION. IT'S ALSO A WHOLLY OWNED LLC, SO IT'S NOT A TRADITIONAL CHARITY. AND ANTHROPIC DID SAY IT'S NOT GOING TO BE USED FOR LOBBYING OR POLITICAL DONATIONS. THE MOVES COME AMID PUBLIC BACKLASH THAT WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT. WE SEE IT WITH DATA CENTERS. THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF NEGATIVE POLLING LATELY AROUND THIS TECHNOLOGY. AND THE IPO, ON TOP OF ALL THAT, IS ABOUT TO CREATE A RECORD WINDFALL FOR ITS FOUNDERS AND EMPLOYEES. THIS COULD BE A WAY TO GARNER SOME GOODWILL AS PART OF THAT PROCESS. ANTHROPIC IS SAYING THAT SOME OF THE FUNDS WILL GO DIRECTLY TOWARDS ADDRESSING THE TECHNOLOGY'S ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES. THE FUND COULD SUPPORT WORKERS DISPLACED BY AI, FOR EXAMPLE. BUT IMPORTANT NOTE HERE THE BOARD GETS TO CHOOSE WHERE TO ALLOCATE THE MONEY. SO THIS COMPANY, WE SHOULD ALSO NOTE, IS A PUBLIC BENEFIT CORPORATION, MEANING THE BOARD ALREADY HAS THIS DUAL MANDATE. THEY'VE GOT A FIDUCIARY DUTY ON ONE SIDE AND THEN THEIR PUBLIC BENEFIT, CAUSE THEY SAY THAT IS AI FOR THE BENEFIT OF HUMANITY ANTHROPIC. AND THIS MOVE IS ALREADY FACING SOME BACKLASH OVER THE WEEKEND WHEN THEY DID ANNOUNCE THIS QUESTIONING, WE HAVE PEOPLE QUESTIONING, I SHOULD SAY, WHY ANTHROPIC WOULD RETAIN CONTROL OF THE MONEY VERSUS JUST GIVING IT AWAY DIRECTLY. >> KELLY SO A PUBLIC BENEFIT FUND, THEY HAVE A LOT OF THEM FOR LIKE UTILITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY. BUT I JUST WONDER WHY THEY'RE GOING THAT ROUTE INSTEAD OF DIRECT PHILANTHROPY. YEAH, IT'S A CURIOUS MOVE. >> IT'S I THINK THAT'S WHAT'S GETTING A LOT OF ATTENTION. KELLY. I MEAN, THIS WOULD BE THE LARGEST PHILANTHROPIC EFFORT MAYBE IN HISTORY. IT COULD BE $100 BILLION AT THE OUTSET. BUT I THINK THE BIG QUESTION IS RIGHT. THE BOARD HAS DISCRETION OVER WHETHER THIS IS ACTUALLY GOING. THERE HAS BEEN PUSHBACK ABOUT THE POLITICS BEHIND ALL OF THIS, WHICH THEY HAVE SAID DIRECTLY. THEY'RE NOT GOING TO USE IT FOR LOBBYING, BUT THEY THE QUESTION IS, YOU KNOW, THEY GET TO CHOOSE WHAT GROUPS ARE DISRUPTED BY AI AND SORT OF WHERE TO CHOOSE THAT. I SHOULD ALSO MENTION I MENTIONED THE PUBLIC BENEFIT CORPORATION. THEY HAVE A BOARD AND THEN THEY HAVE ALMOST A SHADOW BOARD. SOUNDS KIND OF SKETCHY, BUT THAT'S NOT WHAT IT IS. IT'S SORT OF A BOARD THAT OVERSEES THE BOARD AND MAKES SURE THAT AI SAFETY IS ALIGNED. SO THE GOVERNANCE WITH THIS COMPANY IS SO UNUSUAL. I THINK THAT ALSO ADDS TO THE QUESTIONS OF WHAT ACTUALLY GOES ON BEHIND THE SCENES HERE. AND I THINK THE THE LACK OF TRANSPARENCY IN THE BEGINNING, AGAIN, THEY JUST ANNOUNCED THIS. THE COMPANY HAS NOT GONE PUBLIC YET. THAT'S WHAT'S GETTING THE MOST ATTENTION SO FAR. >> I'M LOOKING AT SOME OF THE SO WARBY I GUESS, RIGHT. WARBY PARKER. >> WARBY PARKER. YEAH. THERE'S NOT VERY MANY PUBLICLY. >> TRADED COURSERA, LEMONADE, ALLBIRDS, YOU KNOW, THEY KIND OF REMIND ME A LITTLE BIT OF B CORP. BUT BUT BUT I DON'T SEE THE SAME OR DIFFERENT. >> KELLY, I REMEMBER YOU AND I TALKED ABOUT WHEN BEN BERNANKE JOINED THIS PUBLIC, IT WAS SORT OF THE BOARD OF THE BOARD THAT I JUST MENTIONED. BEN BERNANKE IS SOMEBODY THAT'S ON THAT SORT OF SIDE BOARD THAT I MENTIONED, WHO IS IN CHARGE OF OVERSEEING THE BOARD. SO THERE'S SO MANY LAYERS OF GOVERNANCE HER