Anthropic to make hundreds of employees millionaires; CEO worries about AI safety fallout

Anthropic, the AI giant behind Claude is now preparing for potential $2 trillion IPO that could eclipse SpaceX’s record listing. According to a report by Fortune, the blockbuster valuation is said to make hundreds of its 2,500 employees millionaires.

But the prospect of such extraordinary wealthy is worrying CEO Dario Amodei, who fears that it could distract them from the company’s mission of AI safety. Anthropic's situation reflects a broader pattern playing out across the AI industry. After SpaceX's $1.77 trillion IPO, thousands of current and former employees from welders and coders to managers and executives became millionaires as their equity stakes surged in value, with roughly 400 current and former SpaceX employees ending up with stakes worth more than $100 million.

The question Anthropic is asking the new hires

As Anthropic's valuation climbs, the company is reportedly asking job candidates an unusual question during culture interviews: how would they feel if Anthropic someday abandoned its AI ambitions for safety reasons, and that decision caused its stock to fall to zero?Axios reported that Anthropic has begun asking job candidates how they would feel if the company abandoned its AI ambitions for safety reasons—causing its stock to fall to zero.

One candidate shared on Blind that they responded: “I would want to align doing the most good and remaining ethical while building a sustaining business.” The unusual interview question reflects leadership’s concern that financial incentives could overshadow long-term goals.

Why Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei is worried

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, whose own net worth is estimated at $15.5 billion, has reportedly expressed concern that the company's enormous financial incentives could undermine its ability to retain employees who are genuinely committed to its mission rather than its stock price.

Anthropic, structured as a public benefit corporation, has long tried to differentiate itself from rivals like OpenAI through a stated focus on AI safety and what it calls the long-term benefit of humanity.

The company's own values statement frames its mission as a shared purpose that lets it act swiftly and cohesively, rather than being pulled apart by competing goals.

Compensation battle for talent

The tension isn't hypothetical. Anthropic is simultaneously trying to recruit the world's top AI talent while grappling with what happens if that same talent becomes extraordinarily wealthy along the way.

The company is competing directly with Meta, Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI for researchers and engineers, and is offering compensation to match — base salaries for staff software engineering roles currently range from $320,000 to $405,000.Anthropic still has significant hiring left to do, with more than 500 open roles across the company, including roughly 90 in sales, over 60 in AI research and engineering, and 47 in security.

The competition for those jobs has become intense enough that some candidates are reportedly spending more than $4,000 on private interview coaching to improve their odds. Aline Lerner, founder of prep company Interviewing.io, told Bloomberg that the math behind that spending is straightforward — a few thousand dollars upfront can translate into a $200,000 jump in salary.

Wealth boom and social risks

Amodei, whose net worth is estimated at $15.5 billion, has warned that AI’s wealth boom could “break society” if benefits remain concentrated among a small group. He and Anthropic’s six cofounders, including his sister Daniela Amodei, have pledged to give away 80% of their wealth. In a letter earlier this year, Amodei criticized tech leaders skeptical of philanthropy, writing: “Wealthy individuals have an obligation to help solve this problem.