Anthropic plans 5% share commitment to new public benefit fund

Anthropic plans to commit 5% of its shares to a new public benefit fund ahead of its initial public offering, a structural move that follows the company's co-founders pledging to donate 80% of their equity. The fund, structured as a wholly owned limited liability company rather than a nonprofit, will be under board control and requires shareholder approval. Anthropic stated the fund will not engage in lobbying or political donations, but the board retains discretion to add money and shares over time. For every 50% increase in the company's value, the board could add 2% to the fund's value. Anthropic indicated it may explore large donations to traditional nonprofits or direct distributions to specific populations, though the exact criteria for these populations remain undefined. The structure aims to provide adjustability between different forms of giving, avoiding the strict federal rules that apply to nonprofit organizations.

Elon Musk announced a competing pledge to give one SpaceX share to every child in America next year, describing it as the first of many such gifts. CNBC calculated that the gift to approximately 72 million children would represent $10.5 billion worth of stock. The mechanics of this distribution remain unclear, including whether it will be direct cash, stock, or managed through a specific fund. Musk's announcement comes as SpaceX is expected to report earnings after the bell tomorrow, with anticipated revenue of $12.9 billion and adjusted earnings per share of 15 cents. Investors are watching SpaceX's AI spending and its annual recurring revenue metrics.

In other AI developments, Nscale, a UK-based neocloud firm backed by Nvidia, faced a setback after Microsoft withdrew from a data center deal in the UK. Nscale did not provide a reason for the withdrawal, but reports cited power constraints, with UK utilities unable to provide dedicated power until 2030. Nscale is planning an IPO and reportedly filed on September 18. Bloomberg reported that investors are now calling for a significantly reduced valuation from the approximately $30 billion valuation the company was previously seeking. This represents a one-third haircut to the expected valuation. Nscale has also reported delays in its Norway data center project, with only 6.4 megawatts deployed out of a planned 30 megawatts.

Anthropic also proposed legislation that would limit when the government can halt the development of frontier models. The proposal sets thresholds for intervention, requiring a foreseeable imminent risk of more than $1 billion in damage or the killing or serious injury of more than 50 people, specifically from biological weapons, cyberattacks, or loss of control. Critics have noted the high risk tolerance compared to biomedical research standards, where a single death typically halts a study. These developments occur against a backdrop of market volatility, with the S&P 500 down about 2% last week and the Nasdaq down about 4.5%, driven by concerns over AI buildout costs and rising interest rates.