Anthropic Founders to Retain Control Post-IPO
Anthropic’s seven co-founders will hold 50.1% of the company’s voting power following its Initial Public Offering (IPO), as outlined in a draft IPO filing reviewed by Reuters.
The founders will achieve this through a new entity, Founder LLC. This structure allows them to prioritize the company's mission above market pressures. However, the document remains unpublished, and Anthropic has declined to comment to Reuters.
Under the proposed plan, co-founders hold decisive power over a single Class F share, which carries 50.1% of the vote on crucial decisions. Anthropic will have four other share classes, with varying levels of voting rights. The Class A stock sold to public investors offers one vote per share, while strategic partners' shares possess minimal voting power. This complex structure could potentially dilute the influence of ordinary shareholders.
The filing itself warns that such a setup might lead to conflicts between founder decisions and shareholder interests, ultimately impacting the value of Class A stock.
Anthropic will maintain its status as a Public Benefit Corporation under Delaware law, allowing its leadership to consider public good alongside financial returns. The company's board will consist of representatives from various groups:
- Chief Executive Dario Amodei, his sister Daniela Amodei (President and Board Chair), Tom Brown (Compute Lead), and researcher Chris Olah.
- Class A shareholders and the public will elect two Amodeis and one director yet to be named.
- The remaining four board seats will be held by Anthropic's Long-Term Benefit Trust, with notable members including former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.
Founders can lose their place in Founder LLC under specific circumstances, such as leaving the company, dying, selling a substantial number of shares, or for cause. The special share begins to phase out once only two or fewer founders remain.
The filing additionally reveals 2025 compensation packages for Dario Amodei (nearly $18 million, primarily in stock and options) and Daniela Amodei ($16.4 million). All seven co-founders have pledged 80% of their Anthropic stakes to charity.
Cristian Dina, CRO at The Next Web, contributed to this report. He has interviewed over 300 industry leaders and authored the book King of Networking. At 23, Cristian was recognized on Forbes' 2025 30 Under 30 list for his contributions to the tech ecosystem.