Former UK Prime Minister **Rishi Sunak** has been appointed as a senior advisor to US tech giant **Microsoft** and leading artificial intelligence startup Anthropic. These new positions were announced and approved by the Westminster Business Appointments Advisory Committee (Acoba) on Thursday.
Sunak served as the UK's Prime Minister from October 2022 to July 2024, during which he prioritized AI safety as a government focus. In November 2023, he hosted the world's first AI Safety Summit at Bletchley Park.
At Microsoft, Sunak will join the company, which he praised as "one of the founders of modern technology," following its $3.9 trillion market value. Notably, Microsoft is a major investor in OpenAI, and Sunak had one-on-one meetings with OpenAI's CEO during the summit. He also jointly announced a new 2.5 billion pound data center investment agreement with Microsoft's CEO Brad Smith. Acoba approved the appointment, despite Microsoft having multiple large contracts with the UK government, including a digital transformation memorandum of understanding costing 1.4 billion pounds annually.
At Anthropic, this AI startup valued at 180 billion dollars is known for its Claude AI tool and is leading in the race for general artificial intelligence (AGI).
Sunak said his advisory roles would provide **"high-level strategic perspectives on macroeconomic and geopolitical trends"**, and help both companies address **"major strategic issues such as how technology can serve our economy, security, and society."**
Acoba stated that there were "reasonable concerns" about the position at Anthropic, which could be seen as providing unfair channels and influence within the UK government. However, Sunak assured the committee that both positions would be **"internally centered"**, and **"would not involve any lobbying or influence on UK policy matters."**
Sunak previously served as a senior advisor to investment bank Goldman Sachs International and a speaker at companies like Bain Capital. He announced that all his compensation from Microsoft and Anthropic would be transferred to **The Richmond Project**, a charitable organization he and his wife Akshata Murthy established earlier this year. The organization aims to promote social mobility through computational power.
Anthropic spokesperson said that Sunak was among the first global leaders to recognize the potential of AI transformation, and his experience would provide valuable strategic perspectives for the company's efforts to "ensure that artificial intelligence benefits humanity."
