Netflix co-founder and former CEO Reed Hastings joins Anthropic board

Anthropic has appointed Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings to the board of directors, the artificial intelligence startup said on Wednesday.

Hastings, 64, is also a board member at Bloomberg. He has previously held director positions at Microsoft and Facebook, and served as the CEO of Netflix for 25 years.

"Anthropic is very optimistic about the AI benefits for humanity, but is also very aware of the economic, social, and safety challenges. I'm joining Anthropic's board because I believe in their approach to AI development, and to help humanity progress," Hastings said.

At Anthropic, Hastings will help the company navigate its rapid growth while maintaining its commitment to safety and minimizing AI's potential negative impacts on society.

Hastings co-founded Netflix in 1997 and transformed from a fledgling DVD mail-order service into a global streaming platform.

He recently contributed $50 million to Bowdoin College to establish an AI and Humanity research initiative, focusing on AI's impact on work, relationships and education.

In addition to Hastings, the board includes Daniela Amodei, her brother and Anthropic's CEO Dario Amodei, investor Yasmin Razavi, and Confluent CEO Jay Kreps.