Anthropic's founders aim to maintain control through special voting shares ahead of IPO

Anthropic’s founders are seeking to retain control over the company after its upcoming IPO by proposing a voting structure that would grant them special shares with combined voting power of 50.1%. This arrangement, set to be approved in the coming days, would ensure the founders maintain influence on most corporate decisions as long as at least three of them hold a minimum stake. The founders, including CEO Dario Amodei, each own 2% of the company and have pledged to give away 80% of their wealth, a commitment announced in January. The special shares carry no additional economic value but would safeguard the group’s control once the company goes public. The proposal includes provisions such as the Long-Term Benefit Trust selecting most of the board, increasing the founders’ board seats from two to three, and granting employees their own stock to break ties on certain issues. Anthropic, valued at $1.5 trillion on the secondary market, is expected to reflect this valuation in its IPO. The company’s recent valuation of $1.5 trillion contrasts with its May valuation of $965 billion, highlighting its rapid growth in the AI sector.