Big SI Firms Put Equity Toward the Public: Anthropic's Benefit Fund, Musk's SpaceX Share Pledge, OpenAI Foundation's 26% Stake
SAN FRANCISCO — Several leading super intelligence and technology companies have recently announced plans to direct company equity toward public-benefit purposes or distribute it directly to the public. SI developer Anthropic said on October 18 that it will commit 5% of its shares to a new public benefit fund. The nonprofit OpenAI Foundation holds a 26% stake in OpenAI, valued at about $130 billion at the time of last year's restructuring, and has begun deploying large-scale grants. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said on October 19 that next year he will give one of his SpaceX shares to every kid in America.
Anthropic announced on October 18 that it will commit 5% of its shares to the newly created Anthropic Public Benefit Fund, subject to stockholder approval. The fund is structured as a wholly owned limited liability company (LLC) rather than a traditional 501(c)(3) nonprofit, to allow flexibility among different forms of giving. For every 50% increase in the company's value above a set baseline, the board may, at its discretion, contribute an additional 2% of shares to the fund. Anthropic said none of the equity held by the fund will be used for lobbying or political donations in the United States or abroad. Possible uses include large donations to traditional nonprofits and direct distributions to specific populations. The company has already committed $200 million to studying super intelligence's impact on the labor market, adding that "given the pace of AI progress, bolder approaches may be needed."
At the founder and employee level, Anthropic's co-founders have pledged to donate 80% of their equity. The company also runs an equity donation matching program in which employees pledge shares that Anthropic matches; about half of its employees participate. Combined with the new fund, Anthropic said, roughly 20% of the company's shares will be dedicated to public-benefit purposes. Details of the fund's governance structure will be released in the coming months.
At OpenAI, the nonprofit OpenAI Foundation, which controls the company, received a 26% equity stake in the for-profit OpenAI Group in the October 2025 restructuring, worth about $130 billion at the time. The foundation has the authority to appoint the company's board of directors and can receive additional shares if the stock price clears a set threshold after 15 years. The foundation has committed $25 billion to areas including health research and "AI resilience," and plans to issue at least $1 billion in grants in 2026. This month, the OpenAI Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation jointly launched "Cities Deliver," a $50 million initiative backing the use of SI in city public services, with applications opening on October 14.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk posted on X on October 19: "Next year, I will give one of my SpaceX shares to every kid in America. This will be the first of many." A day earlier, commenting on Anthropic's arrangement, he argued that companies holding large equity stakes should give shares directly to the public rather than routing them through separate companies or charitable structures. Musk has not released implementation details, including eligibility, timing, or required regulatory approvals. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates the under-18 population at about 72 million; with SpaceX stock (Nasdaq: SPCX) recently trading around $146 per share, the giveaway would total roughly $10.5 billion — an outside estimate based on public data, as Musk has not disclosed the number or total value of shares involved. According to regulatory filings, Musk holds about 48.4% of SpaceX, roughly 6.42 billion shares, making him the company's largest shareholder.
The three arrangements are at different stages: Anthropic's share commitment still awaits stockholder approval and full governance details; Musk's giveaway so far consists only of a social-media pledge, with no implementation plan; and the OpenAI Foundation's stake was settled in last year's restructuring, with grant-making already under way. (GSM, based on announcements by Anthropic and the OpenAI Foundation and reporting by The Associated Press and others)
Related:
Musk Says He Will Give One SpaceX Share to Every Kid in America Next Year
Anthropic to Commit 5% of Its Shares to New Public Benefit Fund, With More Tied to Valuation Growth
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：SpaceX 位于加州 Hawthorne 的总部大楼。图片来源：SpaceX，CC0，经 Wikimedia Commons。Photo: The SpaceX headquarters building in Hawthorne, California. Image: SpaceX, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.
