Chris Liddell, then-White House deputy chief of staff for policy, during a meeting of the U.S. Workforce Policy Advisory Board in the East Room of the White House in Washington, June 26, 2020.
Al Drago | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Anthropic announced Friday that it has appointed longtime executive and political operative Chris Liddell to its board of directors.
Mr. Liddell previously served as Chief Financial Officer. microsoftvice chairman of general motors He served as White House Deputy Chief of Staff during President Donald Trump’s first term. He has also been involved in three presidential transition cycles, according to his website.
Anthropic’s decision to add Mr. Liddell to its board could foster friendly relations with the Trump administration, which has lambasted artificial intelligence startups in recent months.
In October, venture capitalist David Sachs, the administration’s AI and cryptocurrency czar, accused Anthropic of supporting “woke AI” because of its stance on regulation.
“My career has taught me that the governance of innovative technology is as important as the technology itself,” Liddell said in a statement Friday. “Anthropic’s approach to building capable and responsible AI is critical to our future, which is why I’m proud to join the company’s board.”
Anthropic announced Thursday it will donate $20 million to Public First Action, which supports pro-AI regulation candidates, including Republican Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee and Pete Ricketts of Nebraska.
In December, President Trump signed an executive order promoting a single regulatory framework for AI and created a litigation task force to challenge state AI laws, laws led by Democratic lawmakers.
Anthropic was founded in 2021 by a group of former OpenAI executives and researchers and is best known for developing a family of AI models called Claude. The company announced Thursday that it closed a $30 billion funding round at a post-money valuation of $380 billion.
Liddell joins CEO Dario Amodei, President Daniela Amodei and the sixth member of Anthropic’s board of directors. Netflix Chairman Reed Hastings and others. Members of Anthropic’s board of directors are elected by shareholders and a long-term benefit trust that serves as an independent governance structure for the company.
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