As a public interest company ( public benefit corporation , PBC ), on the occasion of preparing for the major IPO in this AI laboratory, Anthropic has raised key questions for investors.

The goal of Anthropic is to go public with a valuation of at least $1.5 trillion, which will make it the first major frontier laboratory to test investors' interest in AI on the public market, and the valuation could be quite high as well. The PBC shell adds another layer of complexity, requiring Anthropic to maintain a balance between fulfilling its mission of public interest and assuming the standard fiduciary responsibilities of a listed company.

According to its S-1 document, the goal of Anthropic is to 'develop and maintain advanced AI in a responsible manner for the long-term benefit of all humanity.'

Other companies also operate with a structure similar to PBC or similar formats. Warby Parker is one such example. The private company Patagonia is registered in California as a similar entity known as Benefit Corp. When Google went public in 2004, its unofficial motto was "Don't Be Evil," which was included in its IPO prospectus and corporate code of conduct. However, Google is not exactly PBC.

Anthropic has long positioned itself as a responsible AI company and has taken measures to regulate its own behavior. In 2023, Anthropic established a "long-term interests trust" to oversee its business practices. The company has also set up a "public interest fund," which holds approximately 847 million shares of Class N stock, accounting for about 5% of its fully diluted shares as of June 30th.

The seven co-founders, including Dario Amodei, hold special voting rights through one Class F share, which corresponds to 50.1% of the total voting rights in shareholder resolutions. Anthropic states in the document that it believes these seven individuals "clearly possess the capability to serve as guardians of our mission."

Anthropic has left itself a great deal of room for maneuver. The company stated in S-1 that operating in the form of PBC 'enables the board of directors to make the necessary trade-offs between the financial interests of shareholders, the best interests of those substantially affected by our actions, and the specific public interest objectives we advocate.'

Good luck to you.

Legal experts suggest that the PBC structure of Anthropic may create tensions in the way companies operate.

"The duty of a director is to find a balance between achieving [public] goals and generating profits. If you ask me what 'balance' means, all I can say is, 'Good luck,'" said Lawrence Hamermesh, a lawyer from a Delaware-based company with decades of experience in PBC law.

He added that the law of PBC does not provide a clear definition of the key term 'balance', and there is a lack of a fundamental standard to determine when one interest should take precedence over another.

"In ordinary cases, it's already difficult to win a compensation lawsuit against directors for losses caused to the company due to their mistakes," he said, "and in companies that serve the public interest, it's even harder, because directors can argue, 'Hey, I did what I did to promote the public interest we claim to uphold.'"

How to handle the security of AI is a key risk. Anthropic has always been at the forefront of warning about the rapidly developing risks of AI, and has listed a large number of risks in S-1. The company has restricted access to some models that it deems too dangerous to be widely released to the public. Even if this comes at the cost of revenue and profit growth, this approach may continue.

As the company continues to raise funds, Anthropic must also find a balance between its obligations and the interests of shareholders in PBC. The company has various types of shares that confer different levels of control, shareholder rights, and voting powers. John Coates, a professor of law and economics at Harvard Law School, pointed out that when the principle of one share, one vote is diluted, investors typically demand higher returns on their capital.

"If the company still needs to continue financing in the foreseeable future, and it indeed seems that is the case with Anthropic, then the company will know that it must focus on the interests of investors for a considerable period of time to come," he said in an email sent to CNBC. The PBC structure "adds another layer of uncertainty, namely how this investment will ultimately evolve."

What does Wall Street think?

Analysts suggest that investors should not overlook the PBC structure.

“It’s very interesting to read this right at the beginning of S-1,” said DA Davidson, the head of technology research at Gil Luria. “There’s a statement that mentions the goal is to keep stock trading prices below the company’s actual value. Then they talk about some practices that are not aimed at maximizing profits, such as promising that Claude will never have advertisements… So it’s important that they put this at the beginning.”

Analyst Mark Mahaney stated in the report on Monday that the PBC status of Anthropic would also limit the influence of shareholders on the company's operations.

"The governance structure limits the influence of shareholders: As a company for the public interest, the board of directors must balance its mission with returns. An independent trust elects the majority of directors, while the co-founders hold 50.1% of the voting rights," he said.

Of course, Anthropic can also modify or cancel its PBC identity, and there have been precedents for this before. For example, Allbirds, which transformed from a footwear company into a AI company, abandoned its PBC identity during the reorganization in June.

In addition, the industrial structure of the AI industry has not yet taken shape, so as technology progresses, investors should be prepared to face further changes. Some top executives in this industry have proposed large-scale mergers and acquisitions and innovative public-private partnerships, while U.S. authorities are also considering how to audit this technology and establish development standards.

"We are dealing with this issue today," said the Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton to CNBC last week, "This is a current problem."