The artificial intelligence boom could transform not only the technology industry but also global philanthropy. As the valuations of OpenAI and Anthropic grow, new mechanisms for allocating capital are forming around them that could become some of the largest philanthropic structures in the world. Instead of traditional donations to universities and hospitals, tech companies are promising to focus on flexible funding, large-scale projects, and measurable results, Axios reports.

Anthropic will direct 5% of its shares to a public benefit fund

Anthropic has announced plans to create a public benefit fund that will receive 5% of the company’s shares. If Anthropic reaches a $2 trillion valuation at the time of its IPO, that stake would be worth about $100 billion. As the company’s value rises, the fund’s potential resources would grow as well.

The organization is expected to be set up as a limited liability company wholly owned by Anthropic. Such a structure would allow it to use the funds flexibly: making large grants to nonprofit organizations or directing money straight to specific groups of people.

The initiative complements the company’s other philanthropic commitments. Anthropic’s co-founders previously pledged to donate 80% of their personal stakes to charity. In addition, the company launched a program under which it matches employee donations at a three-to-one ratio. According to Anthropic, about half of its staff participate.

At the same time, the company says that the shares transferred to the new fund will not be used for lobbying or political donations either in the United States or abroad.

OpenAI already has a major philanthropic shareholder

Anthropic is not the only AI company in whose structure philanthropy plays a special role. OpenAI is controlled by a nonprofit foundation that owns 26% of the company’s shares. According to an Axios estimate based on OpenAI’s current valuation, that stake is worth roughly $130 billion. The foundation also has the right to appoint the company’s board of directors.

Potentially, such mechanisms could turn technology organizations into some of the biggest players in global philanthropy. But this is not only about the size of the capital. Unlike the traditional model, in which major donors fund specific institutions or projects, these new funds can distribute money across different areas and shift priorities as new problems emerge.

This is precisely the approach characteristic of Silicon Valley startups: a willingness to fund ambitious ideas, quickly reallocate resources, and assess results using specific metrics.

Can philanthropy help people who lose their jobs because of AI?

Anthropic emphasizes that many socially important areas of work will remain within the company itself. These include AI safety and interpretability research, applied biomedical development, as well as discounts for nonprofit organizations and scientific institutions.

The new fund is intended to expand the company’s capabilities in other areas. One potential focus Anthropic mentions is the impact of AI adoption on the labor market.

The company has already committed $200 million to studying these effects and finding ways to address them. However, Anthropic believes that bolder solutions may also be needed.

What exactly those will be is still unknown. The company has not clarified whether it is considering direct payments to people whose jobs may be threatened by automation. So it is too early to say that the fund will become a tool for compensating workers for their losses.

The philosophy of effective altruism is controversial

Anthropic’s approach to philanthropy is also influenced by the worldview of its founders and some employees connected to the effective altruism movement. Its supporters seek to direct resources where, in their view, they will do the greatest good.

However, some of the movement’s ideas draw sharp criticism. Donald Trump’s White House recently drew attention to views that go beyond traditional philanthropy. Among them are a special focus on animal welfare and philosophical debates about how to compare the value of different human lives.

As an example, former White House staffer Taylor Budowich cited an old post by Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei. In 2010, Amodei wrote that the death of an adult might be two to three times worse than the death of an infant. Budowich used that statement to criticize the views of the people setting philanthropic priorities at Anthropic.

This dispute reflects a broader issue: if major technology companies gain the ability to independently allocate enormous sums to public needs, their philosophical and political views may influence which problems receive funding and which remain overlooked.

Silicon Valley could set a new agenda for philanthropy

Anthropic’s fund, OpenAI’s nonprofit-owned stake, and the potential donations of a new generation of wealthy entrepreneurs could change the scale of private funding for socially important projects.

However, the announced sums should not yet be viewed as money already available: the $100 billion valuation for Anthropic’s fund depends on the company’s future value, and the specific areas of spending have yet to be determined.

The main change may lie not only in the size of the donations. New technology billionaires may shape their own philanthropic agenda—with an emphasis on scalable solutions, measurable impact, and the problems they consider most important. How effective this approach will be, and who will control its priorities, will become clear as promises turn into real programs.