AI startup Anthropic brings Netflix’s Reed Hastings as board member amid rapid expansion

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA: Netflix Inc. co-founder and Chairman Reed Hastings is joining the board of the artificial intelligence startup Anthropic, bolstering oversight of the company with a veteran technology industry executive and philanthropist.

Hastings, 64, was appointed by the company’s Long-Term Benefit Trust.

Anthropic has a unique corporate structure designed to balance its corporate interests and responsibilities to society. The trust members have the authority to appoint and remove members of the board.

“Anthropic is very optimistic about the AI benefits for humanity, but is also very aware of the economic, social and safety challenges,” Hastings said in a statement. “I am joining Anthropic’s board because I believe in their approach to AI development, and to help humanity progress.

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Hastings built Netfli from a startup mailing DVDs to consumers into one of the biggest names in films and television. The billionaire executive also serves on the board of Bloomberg Inc. and has been a director of both Microsoft Corp. and Facebook – now Meta Platforms Inc. Earlier this year, he made a $50 million gift to his alma mater, Bowdoin College to fund a new programme on AI and humanity.

At Anthropic, Hastings will help oversee the company as it balances rapid growth – revenue is expected to reach $2 billion this year – with its stated focus on safety and minimizing AI’s negative risks to society. The company was recently valued at $61.5 billion.

Hastings has a long history with AI going back to 1988, when he earned his master’s degree in the field at Stanford University. In 1997, he co-founded Netflix and served 25 years as its CEO.

HE’s also been active in education reform, donating hundreds of millions to charter school networks serving low-income US communities, and has helped fund internet access in Rwanda. Hastings and his wife pledged $120 million to fund scholarships at historically Black colleges and universities in 2020.

The company’s four other board members include Amodei, her brother and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, investor Yasmin Razavi and Jay Kreps, the CEO of Confluent.