Anthropic is the AI safety company founded in January 2021 by Dario and Daniela Amodei and several former OpenAI researchers. It builds the Claude family of large language models - Claude Opus, Claude Sonnet, Claude Haiku - along with the Model Context Protocol, the Computer Use API, and Claude Code.
Its operational headquarters are at 548 Market Street in San Francisco, with offices in London, Dublin, New York, Zurich, and Tokyo.
Annualized revenue crossed 4 billion US dollars in 2025, driven by its API business, enterprise Claude deployments, and partnerships with Amazon (8 billion US dollar total investment), Google (3 billion US dollar investment), and thousands of enterprise customers including Zoom, Snowflake, and the US federal government.
Unlike almost every other major AI lab, Anthropic is incorporated as a Delaware Public Benefit Corporation - a PBC - which legally binds its board to weigh a defined public benefit purpose alongside shareholder returns. Anthropic remains private with a valuation around 61 billion US dollars following its 2025 funding round.
Anthropic's choice of the Public Benefit Corporation form is one of the most consequential governance decisions in the AI industry. Delaware introduced the PBC statute in 2013 (8 Del. C.
§§ 361-368), creating a for-profit corporation whose directors are statutorily required to balance (1) the pecuniary interests of stockholders, (2) the best interests of those materially affected by the corporation's conduct, and (3) a specific public benefit purpose stated in the certificate of incorporation.
Anthropic's certificate names "the responsible development and maintenance of advanced AI for the long-term benefit of humanity" as its specific public benefit. The practical effect is that Anthropic directors have explicit legal cover to slow a product launch, refuse a customer, or invest in safety research even when a purely for-profit fiduciary duty analysis would point the other way.
For founders, the PBC form is the best available legal instrument for "mission-driven for-profit" - it is real, enforceable Delaware law, not greenwashing. Converting a regular Delaware C-Corp to a PBC requires a 2/3 shareholder vote and a certificate amendment; starting as a PBC from day one avoids that hurdle.
PBCs also have "benefit enforcement proceedings" (§ 367) that give shareholders derivative standing to sue if directors ignore the public benefit purpose, though no such suit has yet resulted in damages against a PBC director.
Anthropic also operates a Long-Term Benefit Trust - a separate governance body with the power to appoint a minority of Anthropic's board members - which sits outside the PBC structure itself. The LTBT is not a Delaware creation (it's a trust, not a corporation), but it is made possible by Delaware's flexible board-appointment rules in the certificate of incorporation.
Other notable Delaware PBCs include Patagonia (converted 2012), Kickstarter (converted 2015), Warby Parker (public since 2021), Allbirds (public since 2021), and Plum Organics. Anthropic is the first AI lab of its scale to use the form.
A Public Benefit Corporation (PBC) is a Delaware for-profit corporation whose directors are statutorily required under 8 Del. C. § 362 to balance three interests: the pecuniary interests of shareholders, the best interests of those materially affected by the corporation's conduct, and a specific public benefit purpose stated in the certificate of incorporation.
Unlike a standard C-Corp, whose directors owe duties only to shareholders, a PBC director has explicit legal authorization to prioritize mission over profit when the two conflict.
Non-profits cannot issue equity and therefore cannot raise venture capital on standard VC terms. Anthropic needed multi-billion-dollar investment from Amazon, Google, and others, which required a for-profit vehicle with real equity. The PBC form solves this: directors can prioritize AI safety without breaching fiduciary duty, and investors can still buy equity and receive returns.
The Long-Term Benefit Trust sits on top to provide additional mission protection.
A Delaware PBC is a legal entity type under Delaware General Corporation Law, it's real, enforceable corporate law. A B-Corp is a third-party certification from B Lab, the non-profit that administers the B Impact Assessment. A company can be a PBC without being B-Corp certified, or B-Corp certified without being a PBC (though many states now require PBC status for certification).
Anthropic is a PBC but is not currently B-Corp certified.
Yes, under 8 Del. C. § 363. A standard Delaware C-Corp can convert to a PBC with a 2/3 supermajority shareholder vote and a certificate amendment specifying the public benefit purpose. Several well-known companies have converted, Kickstarter in 2015, Patagonia in 2012 (under California's benefit corporation law, later reconfirmed), and a growing list of startups.
Dissenting shareholders have appraisal rights and can demand fair-value cash-out under § 363(b).
