Former British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has joined Microsoft and AI startup Anthropic as a senior adviser. This is his return to the private sector after leaving office last year.
Sunak announced the appointments in a LinkedIn post on Thursday, saying that all proceeds from the roles will be donated to The Richmond Project, a charity he co-founded with his wife, Akshata Murty.
The former prime minister, who resigned as Conservative Party leader following the party’s defeat in the July 2024 general election, remains a member of the British Parliament.
According to Sunak, his advisory roles will focus on global strategy, macroeconomic trends, and geopolitics rather than UK-specific policy. Anthropic, backed by Amazon and Google’s parent company Alphabet, confirmed that the position complies with all rules set by the UK’s Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (ACOBA), which oversees employment for former government officials.
At Anthropic, Sunak will provide input on the company’s long-term strategy and international outlook. His role at Microsoft will similarly involve advising on global economic and political developments. He is also scheduled to speak at the upcoming Microsoft Summit.
In a letter published by ACOBA, interim chair Isabel Doverty noted that Sunak’s positions comply with all post-office restrictions. He is prohibited from lobbying the UK government or using privileged information gained during his time as prime minister for two years from his departure date.
The appointments come just months after Sunak took on an advisory role at Goldman Sachs, where he began his career as an analyst in the early 2000s before working at several hedge funds.
Microsoft did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
