Anthropic’s co-founders are seeking shareholder approval for a new corporate structure that would allow them to maintain control of the company following an initial public offering (IPO).
Anthropic Founders Seek Special Voting Structure to Maintain Control Ahead of IPO
According to a report by The Information, the seven co-founders are requesting a structure that would grant CEO Dario Amodei and his six fellow founders special shares. This arrangement would provide the group with a combined 50.1% of the voting rights on most corporate matters, provided that at least three of the founders maintain a minimum equity stake.
The move is designed to preserve the founders' leadership as the company moves toward public markets. While the proposed shares would carry no additional economic value, the structure would prevent a loss of control—a mechanism similar to the super-voting shares used by Mark Zuckerberg at Meta and Evan Spiegel at Snap.
The founders reportedly hold approximately 2% of the company each. In a separate context, CEO Dario Amodei has previously emphasized the social responsibilities of AI wealth, having pledged to donate 80% of his wealth in January.
Anthropic's valuation has seen significant recent increases, reaching $1.5 trillion on the secondary market. The company’s upcoming IPO is expected to reflect this high valuation.
As part of the proposed governance shifts, Anthropic’s Long-Term Benefit Trust would continue to select most of the board of directors. Additionally, the number of founder-held board seats would increase from two to three, and employees would be granted specific stock rights to serve as tie-breakers on certain issues.
Sources
- Anthropic’s founders seek voting control ahead of IPO （TechCrunch AI, 2026-09-25）
- Dario Amodei's blog