Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei charts a new direction for tech philanthropy

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has pledged a portion of his company shares to charity with unusual conditions, according to an SEC filing.

In a securities filing this week, Anthropic revealed new details about the size of Amodei's ownership in the company and the massive windfall that he and the other six founders will likely enjoy after its IPO next month. According to the filing, Amodei and the other founders each own over 200 million shares, which could be worth billions if Anthropic reaches its expected valuation of over $1 trillion.

Much of it will go to charity. In its filing, Anthropic says the company co-founders have each pledged to dedicate 80% of their personal equity in Anthropic to philanthropic causes. The directive follows Amodei's open letter in January warning that the wealthy had an obligation to support the workers and families who will be left behind by artificial intelligence.

"It is sad to me that wealthy individuals (especially in the tech industry) have recently adopted a cynical and nihilistic attitude that philanthropy is inevitably fraudulent or useless," he wrote.

Along with the founder gifts, Anthropic also said it will match the donations of company shares to charity by Anthropic staff worth billions of dollars.

For his own giving, Amodei has chosen the favorite vehicle of the new tech wealthy: donor-advised funds. DAFs allow donors to contribute cash, shares or other assets into a private charitable investment account managed by a public charity. The donor gets an immediate tax deduction but the charity can make the grants over time, giving donors more flexibility and time to disburse the funds. Tech founders also like DAFs because they can donate highly appreciated private shares and avoid a capital gains tax from any sale.

Along with the 240.6 million shares that he owns outright, Amodei disclosed an additional 4.6 million shares "subject to voting proxies," according to the filing. In a footnote, Anthropic explained that Amodei has the right to vote the shares that are currently owned or "subsequently acquired" by donor-advised funds.

The two donor-advised funds listed in the filing are Daffy Charitable Fund and Dechomai Asset Trust. According to the filing, Anthropic has "master donation" agreements with the DAFs, where the DAFs receive share donations from the company or employees. Amodei said in his January essay that Anthropic's staff have pledged billions of dollars in company shares, which Anthropic "is committed to matching."