Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings may be paying $2 million to change ‘map’ of this US state

Netflix co-founder

and chairman

Reed Hastings

may have donated $2 million to support California's effort to redraw its

district maps

. A report citing the financial disclosures of the tech billionaire reveals that his contribution supports California Governor

Gavin Newsom

's plan to redraw the state's congressional maps, which has been highly debated. The ballot initiative, which California residents will vote on in November, is being promoted by the Democratic governor as a way to counter similar redistricting efforts in Texas, according to a Politico report. Apart from Hastings, other donors to the California effort include

Y Combinator

co-founder Paul Graham, who contributed $500,000.A Bloomberg report further cited financial disclosures of Danny DeVito to claim that actor has also offered $1,000 for the cause. Moreover, other tech leaders including venture capitalist Ron Conway and crypto billionaire Chris Larsen, have also expressed plans to support the measure. Meanwhile, Hastings has a history of backing Newsom, having been the largest individual donor to the governor’s 2021 recall campaign with a $3 million contribution.

Reed Hastings joined Anthropic ‘to help humanity progress’

In May, Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings was appointed to the board of directors of artificial intelligence (AI) startup Anthropic, which is backed by Google, Amazon, and Microsoft.

The appointment came through Anthropic’s Long Term Benefit Trust, an independent body of five financially disinterested members, according to a company press release. Hastings, 64, previously co-founded Netflix in 1997 and served as its CEO until 2023. He has also held board positions at Microsoft, Bloomberg, and Facebook (now Meta).

Anthropic

said Hastings brings “extensive experience” and an “understanding of how to ensure technology serves broader societal goals” to the company.“Anthropic is very optimistic about the AI benefits for humanity, but is also very aware of the economic, social, and safety challenges. I’m joining Anthropic’s board because I believe in their approach to

AI development

and to help humanity progress,” Hastings said in a statement from that time.