Anthropic will commit 5% of its shares to a public benefit fund

Anthropic will commit 5% of its shares to a public benefit fund

2 min read•Oct 19, 2026•
Maya Patel
Maya Patel

Anthropic will commit 5% of its shares to a public benefit fund, first reported by TechCrunch. The fund, a wholly owned entity within Anthropic, is intended to give the company increased flexibility and scale to support projects for societal good, with possible uses including large donations to traditional nonprofits or direct distributions to specific populations.

Anthropic set the initial commitment at 5% of its shares and has the option to contribute an additional 2% for every 50% increase in its value.

The company described possible uses in broad strokes, including large donations to traditional nonprofits or direct distributions to specific populations. Anthropic presented these as examples of how the fund’s money might be used.

Anthropic has already committed $200 million to study AI’s impact on the job market. The company said the pace of AI progress may mean bolder approaches are needed, and that the fund would have the versatility to pursue them.

The announcement comes as the AI industry faces increasingly negative public sentiment. CEO Dario Amodei has described that sentiment as “fundamentally a crisis of trust.”

The contribution formula gives a specific share-based amount, while the examples of potential uses remain broad in scope. Anthropic said it will share more information about the fund’s structure and governance in the coming months.

Plug-in vehicles reach 32% of global registrations in September

Plug-in vehicles reached 32% of global registrations in September, first reported by Cleantechnica. Battery-electric vehicles accounted for 23% of registrations and set a record at 1.54 million, up 8% year over year, while plug-in hybrids fell 9%; year to date in 2026, BEVs were up 12% and PHEVs down 10%.

Global plug-in registrations rose 3% year over year to around 2.16 million in September, close to the all-time record of 2.17 million set last December.

Year to date, plug-in registrations were up 4% year over year: BEVs grew 12%, while PHEVs fell 10%. Their combined share for 2026 stood at 25%, with BEVs at 18% and PHEVs at 7%. The overall growth rate therefore hides a clear split between the two categories.

The Tesla Model Y led the model rankings with a record 165,000 registrations, up 17% year over year. Tesla Model 3 came second with 65,000, enough to move ahead of Geely Xingyuan and BYD Song despite a 4% annual decline.

BYD Song finished fourth at 54,519 registrations, up 19% and the fastest growth rate among the top five. An export push and the new-generation Ultra body helped lift the model.

At the make level, Tesla had a record 232,000 registrations, up 9% year over year. Toyota reached 61,332 for its fourth record in a row, finishing ahead of Volkswagen’s year-best 58,000 to become September’s best-selling legacy make.