Anthropic’s founders seek voting control ahead of IPO

According to The Information, Anthropic is asking shareholders to approve a structure giving CEO Dario Amodei and six co-founders special shares with a combined 50.1% vote on most matters, so long as at least three keep a minimum stake.

Each co-founder reportedly owns about 2%, and they have pledged to give away 80% of their wealth. The new shares add no economic value—only control after the company trades publicly.

The Long-Term Benefit Trust would still choose most of the board; founder board seats would rise from two to three; employees get stock to break some ties. Secondary markets have valued the firm around $1.5 trillion.

Founder control at IPO is not new—Zuckerberg, Spiegel, the long list. The group lock is the unusual move: seven people, majority vote, minimum-stake quorum.

On its face, this is how you keep a safety-oriented lab from being swung by public-market pressure after listing. Combined with the Trust’s board role, it is the governance story Anthropic has sold since day one.

I’m watching the tension, not the press line. Voting control without economic weight, paired with a pledge to give away most wealth, can protect mission—or concentrate irreversible power in a small cohort just as the company courts a historic IPO valuation. Employees breaking ties sounds healthy; it also advertises how many fights the charter anticipates.

Useful AI labs going public need durable governance. Dual-class structures have a mixed record on that promise. We’ll judge this one by what the Trust and founders do when growth and caution conflict—not by the slide that announces 50.1%.

Connie Loizos reported for TechCrunch on September 25, 2026, citing The Information. Anthropic was valued at $965 billion in May and higher on secondaries since.