Artificial intelligence company Anthropic is asking job candidates during culture interviews how they would feel if the company someday abandoned its AI ambitions for safety reasons — a decision that could cause its stock to fall to zero, according to Axios. The reported questions come as Anthropic prepares for an initial public offering that could value the company at $1.5 trillion to $2 trillion, potentially surpassing SpaceX’s reported valuation.
“I was honest and said no, I would not be happy if the stock went to 0,” one candidate, who discussed the interview process on the anonymous workplace site Blind, said. “I would want to align doing the most good and remaining ethical while building a sustaining business.”
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, whose estimated net worth is $13.6 billion, has reportedly expressed concerns that the company’s enormous financial incentives could affect its ability to retain employees who are genuinely committed to its mission. Anthropic has sought to distinguish itself from competitors such as OpenAI by emphasizing AI safety and the “long-term benefit of humanity.”
READ: Anthropic files for IPO, discloses $80 billion loss (October 26, 2026)
“At the end of the day, the mission is what we’re all here for,” the company’s values statement reads. “It gives us a shared purpose and allows us to act swiftly together, rather than being pulled in multiple directions by competing goals.”
Earlier this year, Amodei called for a slowdown in the development of AI capabilities, a proposal that received support from other technology leaders. In an essay, he wrote that AI development itself was not in question, but that the risks were “serious” and companies and governments needed time to address them.
According to Fortune, Anthropic is offering base salaries of more than $800,000 amid intense competition for talent in the AI industry. The competition is so fierce that Anthropic acknowledged in its Oct. 26 S-1 filing that hiring and retaining qualified employees had become exceptionally difficult, particularly in the San Francisco Bay Area, where the company is headquartered.
“Competition in our industry relating to hiring and retaining employees with appropriate qualifications and on competitive economic terms is exceptionally intense and has escalated significantly in recent periods,” the company said.
READ: Anthropic’s new AI agent Claude Duet can work while users are away (October 22, 2026)
Following SpaceX’s reported $1.77 trillion IPO valuation, thousands of current and former employees could become millionaires as their company equity rises in value. As AI valuations continue to climb and employees benefit from equity grants, more workers could see similar gains.
Amodei has warned that the economic benefits of AI could become concentrated among a relatively small group of people. In response, he and Anthropic’s six other co-founders, including his sister, Daniela Amodei, have committed to giving away 80% of their wealth.
Last week, Anthropic filed for an IPO in the United States on Oct. 26. The San Francisco-based company planned to list its Class A common stock on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker symbol ANT, according to its announcement. Anthropic has not yet determined the number of shares it will offer or the price range for the offering.