Anthropic / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
Anthropic paid CEO Dario Amodei about $18 million last year
The Claude maker's pay disclosure lands as the company prepares for a potential IPO that could value it above $2 trillion
Anthropic paid CEO Dario Amodei about $18 million in total compensation for 2025. Most of it came as stock and options, not cash.
The figure comes from the company’s confidential IPO prospectus. It is the first real look at how the Claude maker rewards the people running it, as the company edges toward a public listing.
Breaking down the paycheck
His base salary started at roughly $655,000. It was then raised to $1.4 million in July 2026, more than doubling the cash portion of his pay.
His sister and fellow co-founder, Daniela Amodei, received $16.4 million in total compensation for 2025. Her package was built along similar lines, weighted toward stock and options.
Anthropic has also handed out additional restricted stock units in 2026. These RSUs are contingent on either the executives staying with the company or the IPO happening.
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How Amodei stacks up against Big Tech peers
He earned more than Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, whose total compensation was about $10.9 million. He also came in ahead of Amazon’s Andy Jassy, who drew a base of about $2.1 million and total compensation of more than $13.2 million.
Then there is Oracle’s Clayton Magouyrk, who received $627.5 million. Next to that figure, Amodei’s package looks less like a CEO payday and more like a decent bonus.
The IPO backdrop
The company confidentially filed a draft S-1 in June 2026. An IPO could come as early as fall 2026. Indications point to a potential valuation exceeding $2 trillion, though nothing is locked in until the listing actually prices.
Anthropic reported an approximate $80.7 billion net loss in the first half of 2026. That loss was primarily non-cash, according to the filing details. The company also posted rapid revenue growth over the same period.