OpenAI cofounder John Schulman leaves Anthropic months after joining
Feb 06, 2025 - businessinsider.com
John Schulman, a cofounder of OpenAI, has departed from Anthropic after approximately six months. He initially joined Anthropic to focus on AI alignment, following a nine-year tenure at OpenAI. Schulman's departure is part of a broader trend of high-level exits from OpenAI, including figures like Mira Murato and Ilya Sutskever. Anthropic, founded by former OpenAI employees Dario and Daniela Amodei, aims to prioritize AI safety and responsible development, with its flagship language model, Claude, competing directly with OpenAI's ChatGPT.
Anthropic's chief science officer, Jared Kaplan, expressed support for Schulman's decision to leave, wishing him well in his future endeavors. Schulman did not comment on his departure, which was first reported by The Information. His move to Anthropic was initially motivated by a desire to engage more deeply with AI alignment and return to hands-on technical work. Anthropic has attracted several former OpenAI staff, including Jan Leike, who joined in May to work on AI systems alignment.
Key takeaways:
John Schulman left Anthropic after six months, having joined to focus on AI alignment following nine years at OpenAI.
Anthropic was founded by former OpenAI staff, including Dario and Daniela Amodei, with a focus on AI safety.
Schulman's departure is part of a trend of high-level exits from OpenAI, including Mira Murato and Ilya Sutskever.
Anthropic's flagship language model, Claude, competes directly with OpenAI's ChatGPT.
