Anthropic 作为一家公益公司（PBC）的架构，在该 AI 实验室即将进行的大型 IPO 之前，给投资者提出了关键问题。
Anthropic's structure as a public benefit corporation (PBC) raises critical questions for investors ahead of the AI lab's blockbuster IPO.
Anthropic 计划以 1.5 万亿美元或更高的估值上市，这将使其成为首家在公开市场测试投资者对 AI 意愿的主要前沿实验室——且估值可能颇高。PBC 的外壳又增加了一个复杂因素，要求 Anthropic 在履行公益使命与作为上市公司的标准受托责任之间取得平衡。
Anthropic aims to go public at a valuation of $1.5 trillion or more, making it the first major frontier lab to test public markets' appetite for AI – at a potentially rich valuation. The PBC wrapper adds another wrinkle, requiring Anthropic to balance a mandate for public benefit with standard fiduciary responsibilities as a publicly traded corporation.
根据其 S-1 注册声明，Anthropic 的目标是“负责任地开发和维护先进 AI，以造福人类长远利益”。其他公司也以 PBC 或类似架构运营。Warby Parker 是一家 PBC。私营公司 Patagonia 在加利福尼亚州注册为类似的公益公司。Google 于 2004 年上市时，其非正式座右铭是“不作恶”，并将其写入 IPO 募股说明书和企业行为准则，尽管 Google 并非 PBC。
Anthropic's goal, according to its S-1 filing, is "to responsibly develop and maintain advanced AI for the long-term benefit of humanity." Other companies operate as PBCs or under similar structures. Warby Parker is a PBC. Privately held Patagonia is registered as similar Benefit Corp. in California. When Google went public in 2004, its informal motto was "don't be evil," which it included in its IPO prospectus and corporate code of conduct, though Google is not a PBC.
Anthropic 长期以来将自己定位为负责任的 AI 公司，并采取措施约束自身行为。2023 年，Anthropic 设立了“长期利益信托”以监督其商业实践。公司还设立了“公益基金”，持有约 8.47 亿股 N 类股份，截至 6 月 30 日约占其完全稀释后股份的 5%。
Anthropic has long pitched itself as the responsible AI firm and has taken measures to police its own conduct. In 2023, Anthropic set up a "long-term benefit trust" to oversee its business practices. The company also established a "public benefit fund" with about 847 million shares of Class N stock, or roughly 5% of its fully diluted shares as of June 30.
包括 Dario Amodei 在内的七位联合创始人，通过一股 F 类股份拥有特殊投票权，该股份相当于提交股东投票事项总投票权的 50.1%。Anthropic 在文件中表示，相信这七人“独具条件成为我们使命的管理者”。Anthropic 给了自己很大的自由度，可按其认为合适的方式行事。公司在 S-1 中称，作为 PBC 运营“赋予我们的董事会必要的宽度，以平衡股东的金钱利益、受我们行为实质性影响者的最佳利益，以及我们所倡导的特定公益目的”。
Seven co-founders, including Dario Amodei, have special voting power through a single Class F share equal to 50.1% of total voting power over matters brought to a shareholder vote. Anthropic said in its filing that it believes those seven are "distinctly equipped to be stewards of our mission." Anthropic gave itself a long leash to act as it sees fit. Operating as a PBC "gives our board of directors the necessary latitude to balance the pecuniary interests of our stockholders, the best interests of those materially affected by our conduct, and the specific public benefit purpose that we promote," the company said in its S-1.
“祝好运”法律专家表示，Anthropic的公益公司（PBC）结构可能在其运营中产生紧张关系。
'Good luck' Legal experts say that Anthropic's PBC structure could create tension in how it operates.
“董事的义务是平衡[公共]目标的实现与利润的实现，如果你问我‘平衡’是什么意思，我会说，‘祝你好运，’”拥有数十年PBC法律经验的特拉华州公司法律师劳伦斯·哈默梅什（Lawrence Hamermesh）表示。
"The obligation of directors is to balance achievement of [public] purpose with achievement of profit, and if you ask me what that means – 'to balance' – I would say, 'Good luck,'" said Lawrence Hamermesh, a Delaware corporate law attorney with decades of experience in PBC law.
他补充说，PBC法律在关键词“平衡”上存在歧义，并指出没有根本标准来区分何时哪种利益优先于另一种。
PBC law is ambiguous on a key word, "balance," he adds, pointing out that there's no fundamental criterion to distinguish when one interest takes precedence over the other.
“在一般情况下，要赢得针对董事的损害赔偿诉讼，指控他们搞砸了并给公司造成了一些金钱损失，就已经很难了，”他说。“在公益公司中这样做则难上加难，因为你还要面对这样的辩护：‘嘿，我这样做是为了推进我们声明的公共利益。’”Anthropic如何处理AI安全是一个关键风险。Anthropic一直处于对迅速发展的AI发出警报的前沿，在其S-1文件中列举了大量风险。该公司限制了部分其认为过于危险而不宜广泛公开发布的模型的访问。即使这会以收入和利润增长为代价，该做法可能会继续。
"It's hard enough in the ordinary case to win a damages claim against directors for having screwed up and having cost the company some money," he said. "It's doubly hard to do so in a public benefit corporation where you also have this defense that, 'Hey, I was doing it to promote our stated public benefit.'" How Anthropic handles AI safety is a key risk. Anthropic has been at the forefront in sounding alarms about rapidly advancing AI, outlining legions of risks in its S-1. The company has restricted access to some models it deems too dangerous to be released widely in public. That practice could continue, even if it comes at a cost to revenue and profit growth.
Anthropic在继续筹集资金的同时，还将不得不平衡其PBC使命与股东利益。该公司拥有多个股份类别，控制权、股东权利和投票权各不相同。哈佛法学院法律与经济学教授约翰·科茨（John Coates）指出，投资者通常会对那些稀释其一股一票控制权的情况收取更高的资本成本。
Anthropic will also have to balance its PBC mandates with shareholder interests as it continues to raise capital. The company has multiple share classes with varying degrees of control, shareholder, and voting rights. Investors typically charge more for capital in situations that dilute their control from one-share/one vote, points out John Coates, professor of law and economics at Harvard Law School.
“如果公司在可预见的未来需要继续筹集资金，而Anthropic似乎正是这种情况，那么该公司将知道，在未来的大部分时间里，都需要关注投资者的利益，”他在一封发给CNBC的电子邮件中表示。PBC结构“为这项投资可能如何发展增添了另一层不确定性。”华尔街的看法 分析师表示，投资者不应忽视PBC结构。
"If the company needs to continue to raise capital over the foreseeable future, as seems to be true of Anthropic, the company will know they need to pay attention to investors' interests for much of that future," he said in an email to CNBC. The PBC structure "adds another dimension of uncertainty about how this investment may play out." Wall Street's take Analysts say investors shouldn't gloss over the PBC structure.
“在S-1招股书开篇就读到这一点很有意思，”DA Davidson技术研究主管Gil Luria表示。“其中有一句引言，说目标是让股价不高于公司价值。接着他们谈论一些非利润最大化的做法，比如承诺永不在Claude中投放广告……所以他们把这一点放在了最前面，这很重要。”Evercore ISI分析师Mark Mahaney在周一的报告中表示，Anthropic的PBC身份也将限制股东对公司运营的影响力。
"It's interesting to read it right up front in an S-1," Gil Luria, head of technology research at DA Davidson, said. "There's a quote about [how the] goal is for the stock not to trade at higher than the value of the company. Then they talk about things that they do that are not profit-maximizing, like promising never to have ads in Claude … So they led with this, and it's important." Evercore ISI analyst Mark Mahaney said in a Monday note that Anthropic's PBC status will also limit shareholders' power over the operations of the company.
“治理限制了股东的影响力：作为公益公司，董事会必须在使命与回报之间取得平衡，一个独立信托选举大多数董事，联合创始人持有50.1%的投票权，”他表示。
"Governance limits shareholder influence: as a public benefit corporation, the board must weigh its mission alongside returns, an independent trust elects a majority of directors, and the co-founders hold 50.1% of the vote," he said.
诚然，Anthropic可能会改变或取消其PBC身份，且此前有先例。例如，从制鞋公司转型为AI公司的Allbirds，在6月的重组中放弃了其PBC称号。
Granted, Anthropic could alter or scrap its PBC status, and there's precedent for doing so. Shoe-maker-turned-AI-company Allbirds, for instance, dropped its PBC designation as part of a restructuring in June.
此外，AI行业的产业结构尚未定型，因此投资者应做好准备，迎接技术进步带来的进一步变化。该行业一些高管已提出大规模合并和创新的公私合作伙伴关系，美国当局也在考虑审计该技术并实施发展标准的方式。
The industrial structure of the AI sector is not settled, moreover, so investors should be prepared for further changes as the technology progresses. Large-scale mergers and innovative public-private partnerships have been floated by some of the industry's top executives, and U.S. authorities are considering ways to audit the technology and implement development standards.
“我们今天正在处理这个问题，”国家情报总监Jay Clayton上周对CNBC表示。“这是当前的一个问题。”
"We are dealing with this issue today," Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton told CNBC last week. "This is an issue of the moment."