Anthropic researcher quits with superintelligence warning as company reportedly eyes IPO
An Anthropic researcher resigned this week, warning on X that the company is racing toward self-improving superintelligence and gambling with humanity's future, a message co-signed by the firm's alignment lead. The warning's timing stands out as Anthropic is reportedly preparing for an IPO.
An Anthropic researcher left the company this week after posting a stark warning on X, claiming the firm is "racing straight to self-improving superintelligence and gambling with our lives." Notably, Anthropic's own alignment lead co-signed the statement rather than distancing the company from it.
Warnings about AI risk are not new in the industry, but the timing gave this one added weight: Anthropic is reportedly preparing for an initial public offering. On TechCrunch's Equity podcast, hosts Kirsten Korosec, Anthony Ha and Sean O'Kane discussed the warning and what it reveals about the industry's broader race to build ever more capable AI models.
Other headlines from the week
The episode also covered several other developments. Apple leaned heavily into AI at its first major hardware event under new CEO John Ternus, with always-on features built into the Apple Watch and AirPods potentially mattering more in the long run than the headline-grabbing new foldable iPhone.
The hosts also discussed Stokes Space's $1 billion raise, which reflects a rocket-launch market that has opened up as SpaceX winds down its Falcon rockets. Coding startup Cognition drew $2 billion in investment at a $48 billion valuation, signaling how much confidence venture capital still has in AI-driven coding tools. Finally, a $50 million seed round went to a floating nuclear reactor venture, part of a broader push to secure power for AI data centers.
