Anthropic plans to grant 50.1% voting rights to seven founders to retain control after the IPO

According to The Information, Anthropic is seeking shareholder approval for a special equity structure that would grant a total of 50.1% voting rights to CEO Dario Amodei and six other co-founders, ensuring that the founding team retains control after the company goes public. This arrangement requires at least three founders to continue holding a minimum percentage of the company's shares.

It is reported that the seven founders of Anthropic currently each hold about 2% of the shares, and the new equity will not provide additional economic benefits, only increasing voting rights. Meanwhile, Anthropic's long-term benefit trust fund will still be responsible for electing most board members, with the number of founder board seats increasing from 2 to 3, and employees will also receive shares that can break ties on certain matters.

Anthropic was valued at $96.5 billion in May this year, and its recent secondary market valuation has risen to about $1.5 trillion, with its proposed IPO expected to reference this latest valuation.