Nonprofits worldwide are gearing up for what could become the largest wave of philanthropy in decades, as expected initial public offerings by AI giants OpenAI and Anthropic are set to make hundreds of employees extremely wealthy. Many of these workers are influenced by "effective altruism", a philosophy that favours giving significant sums away quickly, and organisations spanning AI safety, animal welfare, poverty reduction and democracy promotion are competing hard to attract their donations.

Anthropic's founders have pledged to give away 80% of their wealth, and the firm will match employee donations with additional shares, with one estimate suggesting its IPO alone (possibly as soon as September) could generate an extra $15 billion a year in giving, roughly equivalent to four more Bill Gates-scale donors. WIRED spoke to 18 nonprofits, including ForHumanity and AI4ALL, which described ramping up hiring, marketing and networking rather than cold-pitching, since staff at these firms reportedly already receive up to 20 unsolicited fundraising emails weekly. The windfall is not guaranteed, however, as delayed or underwhelming IPOs, coupled with an overwhelming array of charitable options, could see employees donate less than anticipated.