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Beatrice Nolan here. Anthropic is about to IPO, reportedly at a record breaking $2 trillion. If you\u2019re an employee at the company, especially one that\u2019s been there for some time, you are about to come into a life-changing amount of money.\u00a0<\/p>\n
So quitting, publicly sounding the alarm about the technology you are building, or predicting the death of all humans due to your flagship product, may seem like an unusual move at such a precarious moment. But that\u2019s exactly what a fair few of Anthropic researchers, current and former, have been up to in the last week.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s one post from an Anthropic employee called Evan Hubinger, who leads the company\u2019s Alignment Science team, in response to a colleague\u2019s resignation post:\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe really do earnestly believe AI could kill all humans! I personally think it is >10% within the next decade. I believe Anthropic is trying its best, but we do not yet have a plan to solve alignment for superintelligence and are not clearly on track to.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n While a 10% chance of human destruction via AI may sound daunting, it\u2019s not a new stance for a lot of these researchers. Some, including those who had a hand in creating the technology, have been saying this since the beginning of the decade, some even longer. (Here\u2019s a handy chart if you want to see what some of these leading researchers have for their \u2018p.doom\u2019 number.)<\/p>\n While very much up for debate whether these doomsday scenarios from Hubinger and various other concerned researchers are likely to actually happen or not. It certainly seems like they really do believe it.<\/p>\n See this post from another Anthropic researcher, Drake Thomas:<\/p>\n \u201cI would burn my equity to the ground in a heartbeat for a 1% higher chance we make it out of this situation alive. I expect a great many of my colleagues across the industry would as well. I promise you, we are actually just fucking scared, it\u2019s not galaxy brained marketing.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n None of this should come as much of a surprise, really. Anthropic was founded as an AI safety lab in the first place, and CEO Dario Amodei himself has put his own p(doom) at somewhere between 10% and 25%. Researchers voicing this kind of alarm are, in some sense, just saying out loud what\u2019s been baked into the company\u2019s identity from day one.<\/p>\n However, the timing of this new frenzy over AI risk does seem odd, just weeks out from an IPO. It\u2019s left me asking: what will this mean for the company\u2019s historic public offering?\u00a0<\/p>\n A public listing may bring\u00a0its own pressure against Anthropic\u2019s cautious foundations\u2014a public company answers to shareholders expecting growth, which could mean less appetite for the kind of voluntary slowdown Amodei has floated. The fact that researchers say Anthropic doesn\u2019t have a plan for controlling risks could also spook investors.<\/p>\n Some already appear to have been listening.\u00a0<\/p>\n This week, SOC Investment Group, a labor-affiliated shareholder group that works with union-sponsored pension funds, called on Anthropic to delay the offering, arguing the company\u2019s confidential IPO filing was submitted in June\u2014before the recent hacking incidents, extinction warnings, and pacing proposals emerged\u2014leaving investors unable to properly price those risks.<\/p>\n On the other hand, there could also be a safety case for going ahead with the IPO, the argument being that going public brings transparency and scrutiny that would make the company more, not less, safe.\u00a0<\/p>\n Neither companies nor consumers actually want misaligned AI that could cause havoc in their products, and a track record of taking the risks seriously\u2014third-party evaluation, pacing commitments\u2014could be a selling point for enterprise customers and consumers alike.<\/p>\n In contrast, OpenAI has pumped the brakes on its own IPO, telling Fortune<\/em> late last week that AI safety concerns made it, in CEO Sam Altman\u2019s words, \u201can ill-advised moment to go public\u201d right now.<\/p>\n One thing\u2019s for sure. When those S-1s eventually emerge from Anthropic and OpenAI, the \u201crisks\u201d sections will surely make for some highly interesting reading.\u00a0<\/p>\n See you tomorrow,<\/p>\n Beatrice Nolan Submit a deal for the Term Sheet newsletter here.<\/p>\n Joey Abrams curated the deals section of today\u2019s newsletter<\/em>.<\/em> Subscribe here.<\/p>\n – <\/span>Impulse Space<\/b>, a Redondo Beach, Calif.-based developer of in-space transportation vehicles for moving payloads between orbits, raised $308 million in a Series D extension from <\/span>137<\/b> Ventures<\/b>, <\/span>BANNER<\/b> VC<\/b>, <\/span>DFJ<\/b> Growth<\/b>, <\/span>Linse<\/b> Capital<\/b>, <\/span>Lux<\/b> Capital<\/b>, and <\/span>Valor<\/b> Equity<\/b> Partners<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n – <\/span>EnduroSat<\/b>, a Sofia, Bulgaria-based satellite manufacturer and space service provider, raised $205 million in funding. <\/span>Riot<\/b> Ventures<\/b> and <\/span>Atreides<\/b> Management<\/b> led the round and were joined by <\/span>European Innovation Council<\/b>, <\/span>Google<\/b> Ventures<\/b>, <\/span>Founders<\/b> Fund<\/b>, and others.<\/span><\/p>\n – <\/span>Thatch<\/b>, a San Francisco-based health benefits platform, raised $108 million in Series C funding from <\/span>The<\/b> General<\/b> Partnership<\/b>, <\/span>Index<\/b> Ventures<\/b>, <\/span>Scale<\/b> Venture<\/b> Partners<\/b>, and others.<\/span><\/p>\n – <\/span>Hang<\/b> Ten<\/b> Systems<\/b>, a Menlo Park, Calif.-based enterprise AI services company that helps large businesses build, modernize, and operate software, raised $53 million in seed funding. <\/span>Xora<\/b> led the round and was joined by <\/span>Mayfield<\/b>, <\/span>Aramco<\/b> Ventures<\/b>, and others.<\/span><\/p>\n – <\/span>BackOps<\/b>, a San Francisco-based AI platform for resolving supply-chain workflows at companies that make or move physical goods, raised $42 million in Series B funding. <\/span>Insight<\/b> Partners<\/b> led the round and was joined by existing investors <\/span>Theory<\/b> Ventures<\/b>, <\/span>Construct<\/b> Capital<\/b>, <\/span>Gradient<\/b> Ventures<\/b>, and <\/span>10VC<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n – <\/span>Noetive<\/b>, a San Francisco-based applied-AI research lab building self-improving systems for industrial businesses, raised $41 million in seed funding. <\/span>Eclipse<\/b> led the round and was joined by <\/span>Craft<\/b> Ventures<\/b>, <\/span>The<\/b> Westly Group<\/b>, <\/span>Swish<\/b> Ventures<\/b>, <\/span>Factory<\/b>, <\/span>Incite<\/b> Ventures<\/b>, and others.<\/span><\/p>\n – <\/span>Rune<\/b>, a Mountain View, Calif.-based developer of a product that turns renewable energy into AI compute, raised $40 million in Series A funding. <\/span>Spark<\/b> Capital<\/b> led the round and was joined by <\/span>Union<\/b> Square<\/b> Ventures<\/b>, <\/span>Lowercarbon<\/b> Capital<\/b>, <\/span>Activate<\/b> Capital<\/b>, and others.<\/span><\/p>\n – <\/span>Altis Labs<\/b>, a Toronto, Ontario-based AI-powered software designed to predict drug efficacy, raised $25 million in Series A funding. <\/span>OrbiMed<\/b> and <\/span>Qiming<\/b> Venture<\/b> Partners<\/b> USA<\/b> led the round and were joined by <\/span>Innovation<\/b> Endeavors<\/b>, <\/span>Benchstrength<\/b>, <\/span>Fusion<\/b> Fund<\/b>, the <\/span>Cancer<\/b> Breakthrough<\/b> Fund<\/b>, and others.<\/span><\/p>\n – <\/span>Hackuity<\/b>, a Lyon, France-based risk-based vulnerability-management platform, raised $19 million in funding. <\/span>Forgepoint<\/b> Capital<\/b> International led the round and was joined by <\/span>Bright<\/b> Pixel<\/b>, <\/span>Bpifrance<\/b>, and <\/span>Seventure<\/b> Partners<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n – <\/span>R3<\/b> Lithium<\/b>, a Covington, Ga.-based lithium carbonate recovery company, raised $15 million in Series A funding from <\/span>Integral<\/b> GlobalTech<\/b> Partners<\/b>, <\/span>Axial<\/b> Partners<\/b>, <\/span>TDK<\/b> Ventures<\/b>, and others.<\/span><\/p>\n – <\/span>AcouBatt<\/b>, a London, U.K.-based battery-monitoring company that uses acoustic sensors and AI to improve cell manufacturing, quality control, and safety, raised \u00a31.1 million ($1.5 million) in pre-seed funding. <\/span>Creator<\/b> Fund<\/b> led the round and was joined by <\/span>Ada<\/b> Ventures<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n – <\/span>Silversmith<\/b> Capital<\/b> Partners<\/b> invested $100 million in <\/span>Vantora<\/b>, a Santa Monica, Calif.-based builder of bespoke AI-native operating companies for industrial enterprises.<\/span><\/p>\n – <\/span>Brookfield<\/b> Capital<\/b> Partners<\/b> agreed to acquire <\/span>Reliance<\/b> Worldwide<\/b>, an Atlanta, Ga.-based plumbing and heating solutions company. Financial terms were not disclosed.<\/span><\/p>\n – <\/span>Niobrara Capital<\/b> acquired <\/span>MSP<\/b> Corp<\/b>, a Montreal, Quebec-based managed IT and cybersecurity services company. Financial terms were not disclosed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n – <\/span>TRG<\/b>, a portfolio company of <\/span>Gemspring<\/b> Capital<\/b>, acquired <\/span>Vista<\/b> Technology<\/b> Support<\/b>, a Cardiff, Wales-based tech field services and support company. Financial terms were not disclosed.<\/span><\/p>\n – <\/span>Bertram<\/b> Capital<\/b> acquired <\/span>STARC<\/b> Systems<\/b>, a Brunswick, Maine-based maker of reusable temporary containment-wall systems for construction projects in occupied or sensitive environments, from <\/span>North<\/b> Branch<\/b> Capital<\/b>. Financial terms were not disclosed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n – <\/span>Bain<\/b> Capital<\/b> Ventures<\/b>, a San Francisco-based venture capital firm, raised $1.6 billion for its 11th fund focused on AI, enterprise software, infrastructure, fintech, cybersecurity, healthcare, commerce, and industrial-technology companies.<\/span><\/p>\n
X:<\/strong> @beafreyanolan
Email:<\/strong> beatrice.nolan@fortune.com<\/p>\nVENTURE CAPITAL<\/h3>\n
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