Anthropic, Musk take differing approaches to AI-era philanthropy

Anthropic ANTW-A and Elon Musk have laid out sharply different blueprints for sharing some of the spoils of the AI boom, a split that may shape how the technology’s financial windfall reaches the public.

The creator of Claude models said over the weekend it is committing 5 per cent of its shares to an unprecedented new fund for the “public good,” while Musk pledged on Monday to give one SpaceX SPCX-T share to “every kid in America,” arguing for such direct distributions as the burgeoning sector faces public scrutiny.

Security breaches involving AI systems and warnings from industry leaders that runaway development of the technology could pose severe, even existential, risks have deepened AI safety concerns, adding to public anxiety over job losses.

Canadian news publishers are currently suing Anthropic for copyright infringement.

Canadian news publishers sue Anthropic for copyright infringement

While Anthropic is betting on distributing wealth through non-profit donations and direct contributions to specific populations, Musk, the world’s richest person with a net worth of nearly US$1-trillion, has said he recommends “giving the shares directly to the public.”

“Next year, I will give one of my SpaceX shares to every kid in America. This will be the first of many,” Musk, who runs Anthropic rival SpaceXSI, said in a post early on Monday. He held about 6.42 billion shares in the company as of June.

SpaceX shares closed up about 1 per cent on Monday.

Anthropic said its initiative will give it more flexibility and scale to make donations for the benefit of humanity. The company is planning one of the biggest IPOs in history as a public benefit corporation, a legal structure that requires management to balance broader public interests with profitability goals.

The flotation could value it at roughly US$2-trillion, although Reuters exclusively reported last week that some investors are weighing a lower valuation of around US$1.5-trillion. That would value a 5 per cent stake toward the fund in a range of US$75-billion to US$100-billion.

It would dwarf the still substantial potential value of Musk’s share giveaway, which would be worth roughly US$11-billion at current share prices based on US census figures showing there are 72 million children in America.

“Giving shares, which are stakes in the future economy, directly to the people is the way,” Musk said.

Musk’s move comes months after the White House launched “Trump Accounts,” a cradle-to-adulthood investment program that will provide US citizens born between 2025 and 2028 a government-funded investment account of US$1,000 that families can build on.

With the option for individuals and corporations to donate equity shares to the accounts, many top US companies including Dell, Visa, Micron and Delta Air Lines have already pledged support for the program with employer matches or additional funding.

“A BIG THANK YOU to our legendary friend, Elon Musk, for his incredible generosity in giving SpaceX Stock to millions of American children through TRUMP ACCOUNTS!,” President Donald Trump said in a post on social media platform Truth Social.

SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request on whether Musk’s SpaceX share donations would be linked to Trump Accounts or come with any kind of lockup period.

Earlier this year, SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell and her husband pledged a share of their SpaceX stock to each of more than 2 million children under the Trump initiative.

“That’s a lot of shares... I’m sure somebody will be happy to take them,” Robert Pavlik, senior portfolio manager at Dakota Wealth Management, who does not hold SpaceX shares in the portfolios he manages, said of Musk’s announcement.

“It feels like a publicity stunt... Will it create positive public sentiment? Perhaps.”

Michael Dell and his wife Susan have pledged US$6.25-billion in cash for Trump Accounts, aimed specifically at underprivileged children. In contrast, the value of Musk’s contribution will depend on SpaceX’s often volatile share performance.

Most of Musk’s philanthropic efforts have been through the Musk Foundation, which reportedly holds more than US$14-billion in assets.

Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Emeritus Warren Buffett, one of the most prominent figures in philanthropy, is reported to have given away US$60-billion so far, with most of the rest of his roughly US$150-billion fortune slated for philanthropy too. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has distributed more than US$100-billion since its founding in 2000, with some of that fuelled by donations from Buffett.

Anthropic, which has positioned itself as a safety-first AI lab, has said AI could pose “catastrophic or existential risks to humanity.”

The company said in its blog post its Public Benefit Fund could support initiatives including direct distributions to specific populations and efforts to address AI’s impact on the labour market, building on a previously announced US$200-million commitment to study and address labour market disruption.

Its proposed fund would be established as a wholly owned limited liability company and would receive an additional 2 per cent of Anthropic’s shares, at the board’s discretion, for every 50 per cent increase in the company’s value above a baseline that has yet to be disclosed.

Global companies have cut thousands of jobs after investing heavily in AI, with many, primarily tech firms, pointing to higher efficiencies from the technology’s rapid adoption.

The AI giant said none of the equity held by its fund would be used for lobbying or political giving in the US or abroad.

US policymakers are weighing greater oversight of AI and companies are stepping up efforts to shape how the technology is regulated.

Combined with its co-founders’ pledge to donate 80 per cent of their equity and an employee donation matching program, roughly 20 per cent of Anthropic’s shares will be dedicated to public purposes, excluding any additional shares added later.

Anthropic said it would say more soon on the fund’s governance, structure and the valuation thresholds that could expand its ownership stake.