Netflix’s Reed Hastings Joins Board of AI Startup Anthropic

Netflix chairman Reed Hastings has joined the board of directors of Anthropic, an artificial intelligence company whose major investors include Amazon.

Anthropic, a rival to OpenAI, was founded in 2021 as a public benefit corporation. Anthropic is led by siblings (and former OpenAI employees) Dario Amodei and Daniela Amodei. The company says it is building “reliable, interpretable and steerable AI systems.” Hastings was appointed to the Anthropic’s board by its Long Term Benefit Trust.

“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’m joining Anthropic’s board because I believe in their approach to AI development, and to help humanity progress.” Hastings also serves on the board of Microsoft and was previously on the board of Facebook.

Hastings recently made a $50 million gift to Bowdoin College to establish a research initiative on AI and Humanity. The program examines how AI will transform work, relationships, and education while developing ethical frameworks for its use, which are issues “that align closely with Anthropic’s own research priorities,” according to the company.

“The Long Term Benefit Trust appointed Reed because his impressive leadership experience, deep philanthropic work, and commitment to addressing AI’s societal challenges makes him uniquely qualified to guide Anthropic at this critical juncture in AI development,” said Buddy Shah, chair of Anthropic’s Long Term Benefit Trust.

In March, Anthropic announced that it had raised $3.5 billion at a $61.5 billion post-money valuation. The funding round was led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, with participation from Bessemer Venture Partners, Cisco Investments, D1 Capital Partners, Fidelity Management & Research Co., General Catalyst, Jane Street, Menlo Ventures and Salesforce Ventures, among other new and existing investors.

“Reed understands that technology companies have a responsibility beyond just building products,” said Daniela Amodei, President of Anthropic. “His focus on the human impact of technology—whether at Netflix or through his global health and education initiatives—makes him an ideal addition to our board as we continue building AI that helps rather than harms.”