Rishi Sunak Takes Advisory Roles at Microsoft and Anthropic
Rishi Sunak has been named a senior adviser by two major US technology firms, Microsoft and Anthropic, according to letters released by Westminster’s Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba).
The former British prime minister already holds positions as an adviser to Goldman Sachs International and speaks at engagements for investment firms such as Bain Capital and Makena Capital in the US, reportedly earning over £150,000 per appearance.
Sunak, who served as prime minister from October 2022 to July 2024, praised Microsoft during his time in office as "one of the founding forces of modern technology."
He follows Nick Clegg, the former Liberal Democrat deputy prime minister, in taking a paid advisory role with a leading Silicon Valley company. Clegg previously served as president of global affairs at Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook. Sunak’s senior political advisor, Liam Booth-Smith, also joined Anthropic earlier this year.
In November 2023, Sunak announced a £2.5 billion agreement with Microsoft CEO Brad Smith at the Bletchley Park AI summit, where Microsoft pledged significant funding for new data centers. He also held private meetings with Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, whose company recently committed an additional £22 billion in UK investment, as well as representatives from OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT and a key Microsoft-backed firm.
Microsoft holds multiple government contracts, including an agreement estimated at £1.4 billion annually for digital transformation and AI services. Acoba approved Sunak’s appointment with conditions to avoid potential conflicts of interest.
In 2023, while Sunak was in office, UK regulators initially blocked Microsoft’s attempted purchase of Activision, the studio behind Call of Duty, before ultimately allowing a restructured deal. Westminster officials raised concerns that Sunak’s previous access to sensitive information could provide Microsoft with undue advantages. Sunak stated he will focus on broad economic and geopolitical insights, not UK policy matters.
He will direct his earnings from these roles to the Richmond Project, a charity he co-founded this year with his wife, Akshata Murty, to improve social mobility through education in numeracy.
Anthropic, based in San Francisco, is a leading AI startup valued at $180 billion, known for its Claude AI system. Alongside Google DeepMind and OpenAI, it is a key player in the race to develop artificial general intelligence—an advancement aiming to surpass human cognitive capabilities. Earlier this year, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei suggested AI could significantly impact entry-level professional roles.
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