Anthropic to Give Founders Extra Voting Power Ahead of IPO: Dario Currently Holds Only About 2%

Dynamic Beating AI News: Anthropic is planning to issue a new class of high-voting shares to CEO Dario Amodei and other co-founders, allowing them to maintain stronger control even after the company goes public. The details of the plan are still being worked out, and Anthropic could potentially go public as early as the end of September.

This move is primarily driven by the founders' relatively low ownership stake, with Dario currently holding only about 2% of the shares. The high-voting shares would enable the founders to have more voting power with a smaller shareholding, reducing external shareholder pressure post IPO.

Anthropic also has another unique mechanism: a Long-Term Interest Trust. This independent entity, with no economic interest, holds special Class T shares that can elect a majority of the board members. In April this year, Anthropic confirmed that the trust-appointed directors hold a majority on the board.

As a result, Anthropic may potentially retain two sets of control post IPO: founders maintaining influence through high-voting shares and the Long-Term Interest Trust continuing to control a majority of the board seats.