Anthropic Prepares to Grant Founders Super-Voting Rights Ahead of IPO

Anthropic is considering granting a class of shares with additional voting rights to co-founders, including CEO Dario Amodei. This measure aims to protect management from short-term pressure by external shareholders, as reported by The Information.

Currently, Amodei holds only about 2% of the company's equity, a lower ownership stake compared to founders of other tech companies. However, this move will allow him to strengthen management control through a founder-centric dual-class share structure, similar to Elon Musk at SpaceX or Mark Zuckerberg at Meta.

Additionally, Anthropic plans to maintain the role of the existing Long-Term Benefit Trust through a special class of shares that ensures non-shareholder board members hold the majority. The company operates as a Public Benefit Corporation, which must balance social good with commercial success, and is preparing for an IPO expected to be one of the largest in history later this year.