Rishi Sunak Joins Microsoft and Anthropic as Senior Adviser, Navigating Post-Premiership Ethics
Rishi Sunak has taken senior advisory roles at Microsoft and AI firm Anthropic, with conditions to avoid conflicts of interest and a commitment to donate his earnings to charity.
- • Rishi Sunak appointed senior adviser to Microsoft and Anthropic after his premiership.
- • Acoba placed conditions forbidding Sunak from lobbying UK ministers or advising on government policy.
- • Sunak will donate all earnings to The Richmond Project, a numeracy-focused UK charity.
- • Anthropic is a leading AI startup focused on artificial general intelligence, valued at $180 billion.
- • Sunak’s roles reflect his prior engagement with AI safety and technology regulation as Prime Minister.
Key details
Former UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has accepted paid senior advisory roles at Microsoft and Anthropic, a leading AI startup valued at $180 billion. These appointments come after his premiership, which lasted from October 2022 to July 2024, and add to his existing advisory position at Goldman Sachs, as well as paid speaking engagements with investment firms. Sunak’s newest roles were approved by the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba), which imposed conditions to prevent conflicts of interest, including a prohibition on lobbying UK government ministers on behalf of these companies.
According to official correspondence from Acoba, Sunak will provide Microsoft with high-level strategic insights on macro-economic and geopolitical trends. His advisory role at Anthropic is described as akin to an internal think tank, where his understanding of AI’s societal impacts and safety will be valued. Anthropic's CEO Dario Amodei highlighted the company's focus on achieving artificial general intelligence (AGI), warning that AI could displace up to half of entry-level white-collar jobs in five years.
Sunak pledged to donate all earnings from these roles to The Richmond Project, a charity he co-founded with his wife focused on improving numeracy and social mobility in the UK. He emphasized that he will not advise on UK government policy or contracts related to Microsoft or Anthropic, in line with mandated cooling-off periods that restrict former ministers.
During his premiership, Sunak championed technology regulation and organized an influential AI safety summit in 2023. His close engagement with key technology leaders, including Bill Gates and OpenAI representatives, set the stage for his post-government work with American tech giants. Microsoft holds substantial UK government contracts, including a £1.4 billion annual agreement for digital transformation services.
While Acoba acknowledged concerns about potential unfair access or influence these advisory roles might confer, they found no evidence Sunak took actions during office to prepare for these appointments. Sunak also affirmed his commitment to maintaining his UK constituency presence, countering speculation about relocating to Silicon Valley.
These developments underscore the increasing entanglement between political leadership, AI development, and tech governance, with Sunak positioned at the nexus of policy, innovation, and ethical discourse.