Life got interesting for Anthropic two weeks ago when OpenAI nearly lit itself on fire. Anthropic had been operating comfortably in OpenAI’s shadow, collecting billions in investment from Amazon, Google, and others as it developed similar technology with an increased focus on safety. Then, as OpenAI’s chaos rolled on, companies that built entirely on GPT-4 looked for a hedge. And Anthropic was there waiting for them.
Anthropic is now in prime position to take advantage of OpenAI’s misstep, but it has its own untraditional board structure to contend with. The company is a Public Benefit Corporation, with a board that serves its shareholders.