Anthropic is preparing to give CEO Dario Amodei and other co-founders a special class of shares with enhanced voting rights ahead of a potential initial public offering, The Information reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter. The proposed structure would give the founders greater control over the artificial intelligence company even though their ownership stakes are relatively small. Reuters reported that Amodei currently owns about 2% of Anthropic.
The move comes as Anthropic prepares for what could become one of the largest technology IPOs in history. The Claude developer confidentially filed for a U.S. IPO in June after raising $65 billion at a post-money valuation of $965 billion in late May. The company has not disclosed the size or terms of the proposed offering, meaning the final valuation, share structure and timing remain subject to change.
Anthropic Plans Special Voting Rights For Founders
Under the reported proposal, Amodei and other Anthropic co-founders would receive a special class of stock carrying more voting power than ordinary shares. The arrangement would be designed to protect the company’s leadership from pressure by outside shareholders after Anthropic becomes publicly traded.
The proposal is significant because Anthropic’s founders hold relatively small economic stakes compared with founders at some other major technology companies. Reuters reported that Amodei owns around 2% of the company, making enhanced voting rights a potential mechanism for preserving founder influence without requiring the founders to own a majority of the company’s shares.
Anthropic’s Reported Pre-IPO Structure
| Item | Reported Status |
|---|---|
| CEO | Dario Amodei |
| Founder voting rights | Supervoting shares being prepared |
| Amodei ownership | About 2% |
| IPO filing | Confidential filing made in June 2026 |
| Last reported valuation | $965 billion |
| Latest major funding | $65 billion |
| IPO timing | Not officially disclosed |
| IPO size | Not officially disclosed |
The exact number of votes attached to the proposed founder shares has not been publicly disclosed. The Information’s report also indicates that the structure is still being developed, meaning the final terms could change before an IPO prospectus becomes public.
Why Supervoting Shares Matter
Supervoting shares are designed to give certain shareholders more voting power than ordinary shareholders. A founder could therefore retain substantial influence over corporate decisions even after selling shares to public investors.
This structure has become common among large technology companies where founders want to maintain strategic control after an IPO.
For Anthropic, the arrangement could be particularly important because the company has positioned itself around long-term AI development and safety considerations. Public investors could acquire significant economic interests in the company, but enhanced founder voting rights would reduce their ability to directly influence some corporate decisions.
Ordinary Shares Vs Supervoting Shares
STANDARD PUBLIC SHARES
1 share
↓
Standard voting power
↓
Public shareholders
SUPER-VOTING FOUNDER SHARES
1 share
↓
Multiple voting rights
↓
Founders retain greater control
The precise voting ratio has not yet been disclosed, so the graphic illustrates the concept rather than a confirmed Anthropic share structure.
Anthropic’s Long-Term Benefit Trust Adds Another Layer
Founder voting rights would not be the only unusual element of Anthropic’s governance structure.
According to Reuters, the company also plans to maintain its existing body of non-shareholder trustees, which would have a special class of stock allowing them to elect a majority of Anthropic’s board of directors.
That means Anthropic’s governance could combine founder control with an independent oversight mechanism.
Anthropic operates as a public benefit corporation and has established the Long-Term Benefit Trust to help preserve the company’s long-term mission. The arrangement is intended to give the trust a role in protecting the company’s stated public-benefit objectives.
Potential Governance Framework
| Governance Layer | Role |
|---|---|
| Founders | Enhanced voting power under proposed share structure |
| Public shareholders | Economic ownership and ordinary voting rights |
| Long-Term Benefit Trust | Mission-oriented oversight |
| Board of directors | Corporate governance and strategic oversight |
| CEO and management | Day-to-day operations |
This structure could become an important part of Anthropic’s IPO story because investors will need to assess not only the company’s growth prospects but also how much influence public shareholders will have.
Anthropic’s IPO Could Be One Of The Biggest Ever
Anthropic’s proposed IPO is attracting significant attention because of the extraordinary scale at which the company has grown.
The company raised $65 billion in late May at a $965 billion post-money valuation. It subsequently confidentially filed for an IPO in June. Reuters has reported that the company is forecasting revenue of $190 billion to $200 billion for 2028, compared with a revenue run rate of about $47 billion in May 2026.
Anthropic’s Reported Financial Milestones
| Metric | Reported Figure |
|---|---|
| May 2026 revenue run rate | $47 billion |
| July 2026 revenue run rate | More than $65 billion |
| 2028 projected revenue | $190–$200 billion |
| May 2026 post-money valuation | $965 billion |
| Latest major funding round | $65 billion |
| IPO filing | June 2026 |
The rapid growth in revenue is one of the main factors supporting expectations for a very large IPO valuation. Reuters reported that Anthropic’s annual revenue run rate had surpassed $65 billion by July.
Anthropic’s Revenue Growth Has Accelerated
Anthropic’s revenue trajectory has changed dramatically over the past year.
Reuters reported that the company’s annualized revenue run rate reached $65 billion by July 2026. The figure had reached $47 billion earlier in the year, while other reporting placed Anthropic’s run rate at about $9 billion at the end of 2025.
Anthropic Revenue Run-Rate Snapshot
END-2025 $9B
████
MAY 2026 $47B
███████████████████
JULY 2026 >$65B
██████████████████████████
The growth has been driven by strong demand for Claude and enterprise AI services, although the pace has begun to moderate from the extraordinary monthly growth rates recorded earlier in 2026. Reuters reported that monthly growth slowed to 38% by the end of July after increases of 58% in April and 57% in May.
AI Infrastructure Costs Remain A Major Issue
Despite its rapid revenue growth, Anthropic’s IPO case will also depend on how efficiently it can turn AI demand into sustainable profits.
Large AI models require substantial spending on computing infrastructure, model training, data centres and specialised chips. Anthropic has therefore been pursuing large-scale financing arrangements ahead of its public listing.
Reuters reported on Tuesday that Anthropic is preparing a revolving credit facility expected to exceed $10 billion. Banks are competing for positions in the facility because participation could potentially strengthen their chances of securing roles in the eventual IPO.
Anthropic’s Pre-IPO Scale
$965B Latest reported valuation
$65B Latest funding round
>$65B July annual revenue run rate
$190-200B 2028 projected revenue
>$10B Potential revolving credit facility
The scale of these figures reflects the enormous capital requirements associated with competing in the frontier AI market.
Founder Control Is A Familiar Technology IPO Strategy
Anthropic would not be the first major technology company to use enhanced voting rights to protect founder control.
Meta Platforms, for example, has a dual-class structure that gives founder Mark Zuckerberg significantly greater voting power than his economic ownership alone would provide. Snap has also used a share structure that gives its founders substantial control.
The basic argument for such arrangements is that founders can pursue long-term strategies without being forced to respond to short-term market pressure.
Critics, however, argue that supervoting structures can weaken shareholder oversight. Public investors may own a large economic stake in a company while having relatively limited influence over management decisions.
Advantages And Risks Of Supervoting Shares
| Potential Advantage | Potential Concern |
|---|---|
| Protects long-term strategy | Limits shareholder influence |
| Shields founders from activist pressure | Can reduce management accountability |
| Allows faster strategic decisions | Founder control may persist despite low ownership |
| Protects mission-oriented objectives | Investors may have fewer governance rights |
| Reduces short-term market pressure | Can create governance risks |
For Anthropic, investors will likely pay close attention to how the founder voting arrangement interacts with the Long-Term Benefit Trust.
IPO Investors Will Watch Governance Closely
The proposed structure could become particularly important if Anthropic seeks a valuation approaching or exceeding $1 trillion.
At that scale, the company’s governance decisions will affect a large number of institutional and retail investors. Investors will need to understand what decisions require shareholder approval, how the special founder shares work and what powers remain with the Long-Term Benefit Trust.
The final IPO prospectus will be the key document for determining those details.
Until Anthropic formally discloses its share classes and voting rights, the reported structure should therefore be treated as preliminary rather than final.
The Bigger Picture
Anthropic’s reported plan highlights a growing tension in the AI industry between enormous capital requirements and founder control. The company is moving toward the public markets at a time when AI firms require billions of dollars for computing infrastructure, talent and model development. At the same time, founders want to preserve strategic control over technologies that could take decades to fully develop.
The potential supervoting arrangement could allow Anthropic’s founders to maintain influence even if their economic ownership becomes relatively small after the IPO. Combined with the Long-Term Benefit Trust’s governance role, the structure could make Anthropic’s public-market model different from that of a conventional technology company.
Looking Ahead
The next major milestone will be Anthropic’s eventual public filing, which should provide investors with more detailed information about the proposed share classes, founder voting rights, board structure, financial performance and risks. Until that filing is made public, the exact terms of the supervoting arrangement and the IPO itself remain subject to change.
Anthropic’s ability to maintain its extraordinary revenue growth while controlling infrastructure costs will also be central to its public-market valuation. If the company can demonstrate that its rapidly expanding AI business can translate into sustainable margins, investor demand could remain strong. But the combination of high valuation expectations, intense competition and concentrated founder control will make Anthropic one of the most closely watched technology listings of the year.
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