Re:Anthropic IPO
by tootie on Thursday November 12, 2026 @11:49AM
(#50470285)
I used to work for a public benefit company. We produced media of cultural value freely available to the public. We still operated like a business that sought revenue from customers and sponsors but were officially a 501c3 nonprofit that issued no shares, underpaid all our execs and publicly disclosed all our financials. I find it galling that Anthropic leads off by calling themselves a "public benefit corporation". They are very clearly just a profit-seeking enterprise who think their enterprise is going to bring techno-utopia.
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Re:Anthropic IPO
by SaucyWrong on Thursday November 12, 2026 @01:27PM
(#50471866)
Yeah, unfortunately it seems like the only requirement (in the state of Delaware, anyway) to be a "public benefit corporation" is to say "we are a public benefit corporation" in a somewhat serious-sounding way in your incorporation documents.
Then you can use those weighty words everywhere to impress people while still being just as profit-motivated as any other public company. Sort of an insult to PBCs that actually do provide a public good. And these rules vary by state is my understanding. Perhaps your company was incorporated somewhere else.