Anthropic Copies Elon Musk’s SpaceX IPO Playbook With One Major Difference

Anthropic reportedly plans to hand CEO Dario Amodei and his co-founders supervoting shares. The extra votes would shield the leadership team from public market pressure once the Anthropic IPO lands.

The Information reported the plan, citing two people familiar with the matter. It would be the first time Anthropic’s leaders hold stock with extra voting power.

Supervoting Shares Arrive Before the Anthropic IPO

Anthropic filed a confidential S-1 with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in June. The S-1 is the paperwork that starts a US stock market listing.

The company has the numbers to back one. Its latest funding round valued the firm at $965 billion. Meanwhile, its revenue run rate hit $65 billion in late July, about $25 billion ahead of OpenAI.

The report from The Information points to a potential September IPO, although Anthropic has not confirmed a date.

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Why extra votes? Founders who take their companies public often fear one thing. Outside shareholders can force short-term profit over the long-term plan.

Google wrote the modern defense in 2004. Its founders kept 10-vote shares so they could ignore quarterly noise. Meta later copied the model, and Mark Zuckerberg still controls his company through it today.

The SpaceX Template and One Big Difference

Elon Musk ran the boldest version yet. SpaceX listed on Nasdaq on June 12 under the SPCX ticker. Its S-1 filing gives public Class A shares one vote each. Insider Class B shares get 10.

The result is stark. Musk holds a 48.4% stake but commands more than 82% of shareholder votes. Class B holders also elect the majority of the board.

The filing contains no sunset clause either. The extra votes never expire. In addition, SpaceX counts as a controlled company under Nasdaq rules, so it skips the independent board requirement.

In short, Musk answers to almost no one. That is the playbook Anthropic is borrowing.

Now for the difference:

• Anthropic would spread the extra votes across several co-founders rather than one person.

It also keeps a watchdog SpaceX never built. The company runs as a Public Benefit Corporation, a legal form that binds it to a public mission alongside profit. Its governance includes the Long-Term Benefit Trust (LTBT), an independent body.

Anthropic vs SpaceX IPO: Similarities and Differences

The LTBT’s trustees include former Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke. The Trust helps pick board members to protect Anthropic’s AI safety mission, whoever holds the biggest votes.

The public S-1 will reveal the fine print, from vote ratios to any expiry terms. Until then, the trade for future investors is simple. They get the upside. The founders keep the wheel.

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