Anthropic’s IPO leaves power with founders, trust, and employees

Anthropic's upcoming IPO will leave public shareholders with minimal control, as a complex governance structure centered on AI safety places power with a special trust, founders, and employees. The company's design prioritizes its mission over typical shareholder influence. Anthropic is a public benefit corporation, legally permitted to prioritize AI safety alongside profit. The Long Term Benefit Trust (LTBT), an independent panel, owns stock allowing it to elect and remove a majority of the board. The seven founders jointly hold a special stock class granting them 50.1% of shareholder voting power to elect three directors. The board can check the LTBT by sending certain director nominations or removals to employees for a vote, formalizing employee power seen in OpenAI's 2023 leadership crisis. Founders' control ends ten years after the IPO or when fewer than three remain, after which common shareholders would eventually gain control.