Anthropic's founders are asking shareholders to approve a structure that would give CEO Dario Amodei and six co-founders special shares with a combined 50.1% voting power on most corporate matters. The request comes ahead of the company's IPO, which is expected to value it at around $1.5 trillion based on secondary market trading.
The group approach is notable. Unlike Meta and Snap, where a single founder held super-voting shares, Anthropic's seven co-founders would collectively hold control as long as at least three maintain a minimum stake. Each founder reportedly owns about 2% of the company and has pledged to give away 80% of their wealth.
The new shares carry no extra economic value, but they would preserve the founders' influence. The Long-Term Benefit Trust would still select most board members, and the founders' board seats would increase from two to three. Employees would also receive their own stock to break ties on some issues.
The company was valued at $965 billion in May, but recent secondary market transactions put it at $1.5 trillion. The IPO is expected to reflect that higher valuation.