Ex-UK Prime Minister Takes on Big Tech Advisory Roles

Rishi Sunak, the former UK Prime Minister, has been appointed as a senior adviser to Microsoft and AI company Anthropic.

These new roles add to a growing list of Sunak’s post-leadership engagements, including advisory work with Goldman Sachs International and paid speaking gigs for U.S.-based investment firms like Bain Capital and Makena Capital. Some of these talks have netted him more than £150,000 each.

The appointments were disclosed in letters published by the UK government’s Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba), which approved the positions but flagged concerns over potential conflicts of interest.

Both roles are said to focus on high-level strategic guidance rather than policy advice or lobbying, and Sunak has pledged to donate all compensation to a new charity he co-founded with his wife.

Why It Matters: Sunak’s transition to strategic roles within Microsoft and Anthropic illustrates the deepening relationship between political leadership and tech industry influence. As AI regulation and public scrutiny intensify, these appointments underscore how former political leaders are becoming key players in shaping the strategic direction of the companies at the center of this global transformation.

• Strategic Roles at Microsoft and Anthropic Confirmed by Ethics Watchdog: Sunak has taken up senior advisory roles at Microsoft, a $3.9 trillion global tech firm, and Anthropic, the $180 billion AI startup behind the Claude AI models. The positions were reviewed and cleared by Acoba, which published letters detailing the scope of his work. Both companies confirmed the roles are internally focused and not related to lobbying or UK-specific policy influence.

• Ethical Questions Amid Previous Dealings and Government Ties: While in office, Sunak unveiled a £2.5 billion investment agreement with Microsoft at the UK’s 2023 AI Safety Summit, held at Bletchley Park. He also held direct meetings with Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and executives from OpenAI, in which Microsoft holds a significant stake. These relationships, coupled with Microsoft’s £1.4 billion annual contracts with UK government departments, prompted Acoba to include guardrails on Sunak’s appointments to avoid perceived conflicts of interest.

• No Lobbying or UK Policy Advice: In his submission to Acoba, Sunak stated that his responsibilities will focus on offering high-level strategic insight into macroeconomic and geopolitical trends. The committee acknowledged that while AI was a major policy focus during his time as Prime Minister, there is no evidence that any decisions he made were tailored to benefit Microsoft or Anthropic specifically.

• Salary Donated to Charity Founded with Wife: Sunak has pledged to divert all income from these roles to The Richmond Project, a charitable initiative he co-founded earlier in 2025 with his wife, Akshata Murty. The project aims to promote social mobility through numeracy skills development. This move was highlighted in both company statements and Sunak’s own, aligning his corporate involvement with a philanthropic objective.

• Political-Industry Crossover Reflects Broader Trend: Sunak follows a path already taken by other former UK political figures. One example is former Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, who served as Meta’s president of global affairs. Sunak’s former senior adviser, Liam Booth-Smith, also joined Anthropic earlier this year. In the United States, similar patterns have emerged. Microsoft’s president of global affairs, Lisa Monaco, is a former deputy attorney general, and Meta has added advisers who previously served in the Bush and DeSantis administrations. Sunak’s move reflects a wider trend of major technology companies bringing in experienced political figures to help shape their approach to regulation and government relations.

Go Deeper -> Rishi Sunak takes advisory roles with Microsoft and AI firm Anthropic – The Guardian

Former UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to advise Microsoft and Anthropic – TechCrunch