Anthropic is preparing to ask shareholders “in the coming days” to approve a plan that would hand 50.1% of the vote to seven people who each own about 2% of the company, The Information reports. If approved, the proposal would leave the founders in control once the company is publicly traded.
Under the plan, CEO Dario Amodei and his six fellow co-founders would be issued a special class of shares. Combined, those shares would command 50.1% of the vote on most corporate decisions. The arrangement comes with one requirement: a minimum of three founders must hold on to a set minimum stake.
An old playbook, run by a group
Founders have leaned on super-voting shares for years. Mark Zuckerberg relied on them to retain his grip on Meta, and Evan Spiegel did the same to stay in command of Snap. Plenty of other founders have followed that path.
The twist at Anthropic is who holds the power. A typical structure shields a single founder. Here, control is shared among seven people, and the arrangement survives as long as just three of them remain invested.
The numbers behind the extra votes
Ownership figures make the motive clear. Each of the seven co-founders, Amodei among them, reportedly holds only 2% of the company. Their equity by itself would not be enough to steer a public company.
On top of that, the founders have committed to donating 80% of their wealth. Amodei made that pledge in January, warning at the same time that concentrated wealth driven by AI could destabilize society. Their holdings are therefore likely to shrink as time goes on.
The special shares have no additional economic value and won’t add to the founders’ fortunes. Their purpose is simply to keep the group in charge after Anthropic’s shares begin trading.
The details temper the founders’ grip
The founders would not gain unchecked control. Most board members would still be selected by Anthropic’s Long-Term Benefit Trust. Founder-held board seats would rise from two to three, an increase that still falls short of a majority.
Staff are also part of the picture. Employees would get a separate class of stock that serves as a tiebreaker on certain matters. It makes for an unusual three-sided setup, and the frequency with which those tiebreaking votes are used could end up mattering more than the eye-catching 50.1% number.
Trillions of dollars on the line
Anthropic has been around for five years. In May, it carried a valuation of $965 billion. Secondary-market trading has since put it at $1.5 trillion, and the coming IPO is expected to be priced in line with that higher figure.
With a company this large, even a modest share of voting power is worth a fight. Shareholders in Meta and Snap went along with founder control and continued to buy in.
Anyone planning to pick up Anthropic stock on the first day of trading should study the voting setup first. Holding shares will give you little influence over how the company is managed. For the time being, most of that power is divided among seven founders, a trust and the employees’ tiebreaking stock.