The fund's main focus is labour market disruption, which CEO Dario Amodei has repeatedly warned could cause social and economic upheaval. Anthropic has already committed $200 million to researching these effects, and says bolder approaches may now be needed. For every 50 percent its valuation rises above a set baseline, the fund could receive another two percent of shares, though these top-ups are at the board's discretion and no milestones have been specified.

The structure keeps Anthropic in control: rather than a tax-exempt nonprofit, the fund will be a wholly owned LLC subsidiary, which the company says gives it more flexibility. It has promised not to use the capital for lobbying or political donations. Together with the founders' earlier pledge of 80 percent of their shares and a donation-matching programme, Anthropic says roughly 20 percent of its equity is directed toward the public good. The announcement lands as Anthropic prepares for an IPO that could raise up to $100 billion at a valuation of around $2 trillion, with official filings expected in the next few weeks.

The closest comparison is the OpenAI Foundation, which has held 26 percent of the for-profit OpenAI Group since its restructuring about a year ago and appoints the board. Anthropic's company-owned LLC is not a nonprofit and likely will not face the same oversight. Elon Musk responded on X by advising Anthropic to give the shares directly to the public, and said he plans to give one SpaceX share, worth around $146, to each of the roughly 72 million children in the US next year, without explaining how that would work in practice.