Rishi Sunak has secured a lucrative new position with a prominent artificial intelligence company based in California, with the latest parliamentary register revealing his advisory role is valued at a substantial £373,000. The former prime minister, who served from October 2022 until July 2024, is listed as a senior adviser at Anthropic, the San Francisco-headquartered startup known for developing the Claude AI models.
Details of the Advisory Arrangement
According to the official register of MPs' financial interests, Mr Sunak's entry confirms he assumed this role in September for a fixed twelve-month period. Notably, he will devote just seventy hours of work to the AI firm over the entire year. His compensation package consists of 3,547 shares in Anthropic, which have been calculated to be worth the equivalent of £373,000 at current valuations.
Charitable Donations and Previous Commitments
In a significant gesture, the former Conservative leader is donating all earnings from this position to The Richmond Project charity. This organisation was founded by Mr Sunak and his wife, Akshata Murty, with the specific aim of boosting numeracy skills across all age groups within communities. This philanthropic move follows his earlier pledge during his final Prime Minister's Questions appearance, where he vowed to spend more time in his Richmond and Northallerton constituency, declaring Yorkshire to be the greatest place on Earth.
Post-Premiership Career Moves
Since departing Downing Street after the 2024 general election defeat, Mr Sunak has been building a diverse portfolio of roles beyond his parliamentary duties. In addition to the Anthropic position, he has taken on advisory or speaking roles with several prestigious institutions, including:
- Stanford University
- Goldman Sachs
- Microsoft
He has also secured a regular newspaper column with the Sunday Times and has earned approximately £750,000 from various speaking engagements across the United States, India, and South Korea. There had been widespread speculation about Mr Sunak relocating to California, where he originally met his wife, following his election loss.
Background and Policy Connections
Anthropic was founded by former members of OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, positioning it at the forefront of AI development. This appointment aligns with Mr Sunak's demonstrated interest in technology regulation during his premiership. He made tech governance a significant priority and notably hosted an AI safety summit at Bletchley Park in November 2023, bringing together international experts to discuss the responsible development of artificial intelligence.
When announcing his roles with both Anthropic and Microsoft in October last year, Mr Sunak expressed his enthusiasm on LinkedIn, stating: I have long believed that technology will transform our world and play a key part in determining our future. I am excited to help these two companies, as they address the big strategic questions about how to make tech work for our economies, our security and our society.
He further elaborated on the transformative potential of artificial intelligence, comparing it to the industrial revolution in terms of profound impact, but noting that technological changes would be felt more quickly. In his capacity as a senior adviser, Mr Sunak aims to help ensure that this technological shift delivers meaningful improvements to people's lives.
