Reed Hastings Joins Anthropic’s Board—Here’s Why It Matters

The Netflix Disruptor Takes on AI’s Biggest Challenge

Reed Hastings, the co-founder of Netflix and its CEO for over 25 years, is stepping into a new role: board member at AI safety startup Anthropic. His appointment, facilitated by Anthropic’s Long Term Benefit Trust, signals a strategic push to align cutting-edge AI development with societal well-being. Hastings isn’t just a tech titan—he’s a philanthropist with a $50 million donation to Bowdoin College for AI and humanity research, and a track record of backing global education and connectivity initiatives. His move underscores Anthropic’s mission to balance innovation with accountability.

“Reed’s leadership bridges Silicon Valley’s scale mindset with a deep focus on technology’s human impact,” says Anthropic’s President. “He’s the ideal guide for AI that benefits, not destabilizes.”

The Long Term Benefit Trust didn’t pick Hastings at random. His $50 million Bowdoin grant mirrors Anthropic’s emphasis on AI’s ethical dimensions, while his philanthropy—like supporting KIPP’s 275-school charter network and Kenya’s One Acre Fund—reveals a pattern: investing in systems that empower marginalized communities. Now, he’ll apply that lens to AI governance. Hastings has publicly praised Anthropic’s dual focus on capability and safety, calling it “the rare AI player thinking decades ahead.”

Why Anthropic’s Trust Model Changes the Game

Anthropic’s Long Term Benefit Trust isn’t a typical corporate board. Designed to prioritize mission over profits, it selects members like Hastings to ensure AI development aligns with broad human interests. The Trust’s goal? A diverse coalition—think ethicists, scientists, and now, a disruptive tech leader—to steer AI away from short-term hype and toward interpretable, safe systems. Hastings’ experience scaling Netflix’s culture of “freedom and responsibility” could prove critical as Anthropic navigates AI’s thorniest trade-offs.

“AI shouldn’t just be smart—it should help humanity progress,” Hastings noted in a recent interview. “Anthropic gets that.”

With Hastings onboard, Anthropic gains more than a big name. It gets a strategist who turned a DVD rental service into a global streaming empire—and a philanthropist who funds Rwanda’s affordable internet alongside U.S. classrooms. His legacy suggests one thing: when Reed Hastings bets on a vision, he plays the long game. And in AI, that’s exactly what the world needs.