AI IPO Windfalls Revive Effective Altruism

Effective altruism uses evidence and quantitative analysis to steer money toward causes where each dollar can have the greatest impact, including global health, animal welfare and AI safety. Its reputation and funding base were badly damaged after FTX collapsed in November 2022. The exchange’s FTX Future Fund, which had planned to distribute at least $100 million and potentially as much as $1 billion that year, shut down as founder Sam Bankman-Fried’s fraud engulfed the company.

A prospective AI liquidity boom is now creating a new donor class. Anthropic and OpenAI confidentially filed draft IPO paperwork with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on June 1 and June 8, 2026, respectively. Anthropic had just raised $65 billion at a $965 billion post-money valuation. Its seven co-founders have pledged 80% of their wealth, potentially about $90 billion, while an industry estimate suggests an Anthropic listing — possible as early as September — could generate $15 billion in additional charitable giving annually.