He will donate his salary from these roles to his and his wife’s charity, The Richmond Project, emphasizing his commitment to societal causes.

Sunak’s family background includes a connection to the tech industry through his father-in-law, Infosys co-founder N. R. Narayana Murthy.

Anthropic plans to expand significantly, creating over 100 roles across Europe and increasing its international presence, including opening an office in Bengaluru, India.

This move underscores the growing intersection of technology, politics, and geopolitics, raising public and regulatory attention on potential conflicts of interest and influence.

It also reflects the broader trend of increasing industry-government interconnection, especially in areas like AI regulation, global trade, and digital ethics.

Microsoft maintains a strong presence in the UK, with a Memorandum of Understanding anticipating around £9 billion in government technology spending over five years.

Anthropic, backed by Google and Amazon, is a major player in AI development, competing to achieve artificial general intelligence with models like Claude.

Former UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has taken on senior advisory roles at Microsoft and AI startup Anthropic, leveraging his experience in finance, government, and tech policy to influence AI development and governance.

Sunak's advisory roles are regulated by the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba), which restricts lobbying and use of government contacts for a year, limiting his advice to non-conflicting strategy and geopolitical issues.

Sunak has highlighted the transformative power of technological change, comparing it to the industrial revolution in its potential impact.

The move into the private tech sector has received mixed reactions; some see it as strategic for gaining insights into government thinking, while others raise concerns about conflicts of interest and the 'revolving door' phenomenon.

Despite stepping down as Prime Minister, Sunak emphasizes his continued focus on his UK parliamentary constituency and not relocating to Silicon Valley.

Concerns about conflicts of interest persist due to Sunak’s political background and access to sensitive information, despite adherence to Acoba guidelines.