Image: Anthropic

Anthropic, the company behind the Claude chatbot, says it will set aside 5% of its shares for a new Anthropic Public Benefit Fund. The idea is simple: part of the company's value gets used for the public good instead of going to investors or executives.

The plan still needs approval from Anthropic's stockholders. If it goes through, the fund can grow over time. For every 50% rise in Anthropic's value above a set starting point, the board can add up to another 2% of the company's shares. Anthropic hasn't said what that starting point is.

We’re committing a portion of Anthropic’s shares to the Anthropic Public Benefit Fund, a new wholly owned entity dedicated entirely to the public benefit.

It will start off with 5% of our shares. For every 50% increase in the company’s value over a set baseline, we can…

— Anthropic (@AnthropicAI) October 18, 2026

So how much money are we talking about? Anthropic didn't put a dollar figure on it. But the company was valued at $965 billion in its last funding round in May. At that price, 5% would be worth roughly $48 billion on paper. That's a rough estimate, though. Shares in a private company aren't cash, and their value can rise or fall.

Anthropic gave a few examples of how the money could be used. It mentioned large donations to traditional nonprofits and "direct distributions to specific populations," which could mean giving money straight to certain groups of people.

The biggest example is jobs. Anthropic says AI could create huge economic value but also cause "instability for many workers." It says it has already committed $200 million to studying that problem, but that "bolder approaches may be needed," and the new fund is meant to make those possible. That's the part most likely to matter to ordinary people. A Pew survey cited by CNBC found 71% of US adults expect AI to mean fewer jobs over the next two years.

Can you apply for money? Not yet. Anthropic hasn't announced any application process, and it hasn't said who will decide where the money goes. It says details on the fund's structure, governance and the milestones that could grow its stake will come "in the coming months."

The way the fund is set up matters too. Anthropic is making it a limited liability company that the company fully owns, not a 501(c)(3) charity. Anthropic says that gives it flexibility to switch between different kinds of giving, and it promises none of the fund's Anthropic shares will be used for lobbying or political donations.

There's a trade-off for the public, though. US private foundations must spend a minimum amount each year and file public returns. An LLC has neither rule, so until Anthropic publishes its governance plan, there's no outside requirement for how fast or how openly the money gets spent. Mark Zuckerberg's Chan Zuckerberg Initiative drew similar questions when it chose the LLC route in 2015.

Anthropic says that, together with earlier pledges, about 20% of its shares are now set aside for the public good. Its co-founders pledged to give away 80% of their own shares, and about half of employees donate shares through a matching program.

The timing has drawn attention. CNBC reports Anthropic is preparing to go public, and IPO adviser Lise Buyer told the outlet the move is partly about reputation at a time when AI faces heavy scrutiny. TechCrunch noted that CEO Dario Amodei has called public unease about AI "fundamentally a crisis of trust." According to CNBC, Elon Musk replied on X that he'd recommend "giving the shares directly to the public."

For now, this is a pledge, not a payout. The real test will be who runs the fund, how quickly the money moves and whether workers hit by AI actually see any of it.