John Schulman, a co-founder of OpenAI, has announced his departure from the company he helped establish nearly nine years ago. Schulman is moving to rival AI firm Anthropic, a competitor founded by former OpenAI executive Dario Amodei and his sister Daniela Amodei in 2021.

In a post on X (formerly known as Twitter) on August 6, Schulman described his move as a "difficult decision" driven by a desire to focus on "AI alignment" and engage in more "hands-on technical" work. He expressed enthusiasm for working with Anthropic, citing its alignment with his research interests and the opportunity to gain fresh perspectives in the field.

Despite the high-profile nature of his departure, Schulman emphasized that his decision was not due to a lack of support at OpenAI. "I'm not leaving due to lack of support for alignment research at OpenAI," he stated. "On the contrary, company leaders have been very committed to investing in this area." Schulman’s move underscores a broader trend of increasing competition and realignment within the AI industry.

Schulman’s exit comes amid other notable changes at OpenAI. Peter Deng, the company's product manager, has quietly left, and president Greg Brockman is currently on an extended leave of absence. With Schulman’s departure, only three of OpenAI’s original eleven co-founders remain: CEO Sam Altman, Brockman, and language head Wojciech Zaremba.

Schulman played a pivotal role in the development of OpenAI's renowned AI-powered chatbot, ChatGPT, leading the organization responsible for training generative AI models to follow human instructions.

The timing of Schulman’s departure is also notable, occurring less than a day after Tesla CEO Elon Musk filed a new lawsuit against OpenAI and its current leadership. Musk, who co-founded OpenAI with Altman in 2015, alleges in his latest filing that Altman misled him about the nonprofit’s goals and intentions. This legal battle adds another layer of controversy to an already tumultuous period for OpenAI.

As Schulman transitions to his new role at Anthropic, the AI landscape continues to evolve with shifting alliances and intensifying competition.