Anthropic’s $2 trillion IPO puts powerful external trustees in spotlight
In recent years, there has been a broader trend in Silicon Valley of tech companies diverging from conventional governance norms, making it harder for shareholders and the public to hold them to account.
Anthropic and OpenAI, the two major AI labs, have both designed unusual company structures, with self-appointed “guardians” of their mission rather than just traditional board directors with fiduciary duties.
OpenAI, which was founded as a nonprofit, became a cautionary tale in November 2023, when its board tried to fire its chief executive Sam Altman but lost the confidence of the company’s investors and employees. The incident led to most of the board members being replaced and a broader restructuring of the startup.
Anthropic’s trust is seen as less risky than OpenAI’s governance because it has a built-in “kill switch” that allows the trustees to be fired with the support of 85 percent of the shareholders’ voting power,...
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