Novartis CEO Vas Narasimhan Joins Anthropic’s Board to Steer AI in Healthcare

Anthropic has appointed Vas Narasimhan, Chief Executive Officer of Novartis, to its board, as the AI giant focuses on integrating AI across healthcare and life sciences. 

The decision was made by the Anthropic Long-Term Benefit Trust, an independent body designed to safeguard the company’s mission of developing artificial intelligence for the benefit of humanity.

Narasimhan, a physician-scientist, has led Novartis in advancing more than 35 innovative medicines across one of the world’s most regulated industries. 

“Vas brings something rare to our board. He oversees the development and approval of more than 35 novel medicines for the benefit of patients around the world in one of the most regulated industries,” Daniela Amodei, Co-founder and President of Anthropic, said in a statement. 

The Anthropic Long-Term Benefit Trust, whose members hold no financial stake in the company, ensures governance remains aligned with balancing financial success with its public mission. With Narasimhan’s appointment, Trust-appointed directors now form a majority of the Board, which also includes Dario Amodei, Daniela Amodei, Yasmin Razavi, Jay Kreps, Reed Hastings, and Chris Liddell.

Neil “Buddy” Shah, Chair of the Trust, emphasised the significance of the appointment. “The Long-Term Benefit Trust's role is to appoint directors who will ensure Anthropic responsibly balances its commitment to stockholders and its public benefit mission as the company grows. Vas has spent his career stewarding breakthrough science responsibly—exactly the perspective we are excited to have on the board as we develop consequential technology,” he noted.

Narasimhan also expressed enthusiasm about joining Anthropic’s mission. “In healthcare, AI is accelerating solutions to some of the hardest scientific challenges, from deepening our understanding of disease biology to designing better medicines. Anthropic is setting the standard for how AI should be developed to benefit humanity, and I’m honoured to join the Board and contribute to its mission.”

Beyond his leadership at Novartis, Narasimhan has worked extensively on global health initiatives, including HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis programmes in India, Africa, and South America. He is a member of the US National Academy of Medicine, the Council on Foreign Relations, and serves on boards at the University of Chicago, and Harvard Medical School.