OpenAI Co-founder John Schulman Leaves ChatGPT Maker for Rival Anthropic

The OpenAI logo is seen in this illustration taken May 20, 2024. (Reuters)
The OpenAI logo is seen in this illustration taken May 20, 2024. (Reuters)
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OpenAI Co-founder John Schulman Leaves ChatGPT Maker for Rival Anthropic

The OpenAI logo is seen in this illustration taken May 20, 2024. (Reuters)
The OpenAI logo is seen in this illustration taken May 20, 2024. (Reuters)

John Schulman, one of the co-founders of artificial intelligence company OpenAI, has left the ChatGPT maker for rival Anthropic, he said in a post on social media platform X late Monday.

"This choice stems from my desire to deepen my focus on AI alignment, and to start a new chapter of my career where I can return to hands-on technical work," Schulman said in his X post.

OpenAI's President and co-founder Greg Brockman is also taking a sabbatical through the end of the year, he said in a X post late Monday.

The news was first reported by The Information, which added that Peter Deng, a product manager who joined OpenAI last year, has also exited the company.

OpenAI did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

The move comes as OpenAI faces significant personnel changes, with the company's AI safety leader Aleksander Madry being reassigned to another role in July.

Another one of OpenAI's co-founders and chief scientist, Ilya Sutskever, left the company in May. Andrej Karpathy, who was also one of the AI firm's founding members left OpenAI in February and started an AI-integrated education platform in July.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who was also one of the co-founders of OpenAI and left three years later, revived his lawsuit against the company and CEO Sam Altman on Monday, saying that the firm put profits and commercial interests ahead of public good.



Nintendo Switch Sales Halve and Profit Tumbles as Successor Device Awaited

A customer browses the gaming section of Nintendo products in a shop in Tokyo, Japan, May 6, 2021. (AFP)
A customer browses the gaming section of Nintendo products in a shop in Tokyo, Japan, May 6, 2021. (AFP)
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Nintendo Switch Sales Halve and Profit Tumbles as Successor Device Awaited

A customer browses the gaming section of Nintendo products in a shop in Tokyo, Japan, May 6, 2021. (AFP)
A customer browses the gaming section of Nintendo products in a shop in Tokyo, Japan, May 6, 2021. (AFP)

Japan's Nintendo said sales of its aging Switch console almost halved in the April-June first quarter and profit slumped, falling far short of estimates.
The gaming giant sold just 2.1 million units of the Switch, which is in its eighth year, during the quarter but maintained its full-year sales forecast for 13.5 million units, Reuters said.
Nintendo has said it plans to make an announcement about a successor device in the current financial year.
Operating profit tumbled 71% to 54.5 billion yen ($365 million), more than a third below analysts' estimates.
Its mobile and intellectual property-related division also had a weak showing with revenue sliding to 14.7 billion yen, down 54% from the same period a year earlier when profit was boosted by the hit "Super Mario Bros." movie.
The company has a thin pipeline of titles announced for this year, with upcoming games including "The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom" and "Mario & Luigi: Brothership".
A new "Super Mario" film is due for release in April 2026. The company has also said it would collaborate on a live-action movie of "The Legend of Zelda".
The games industry is grappling with rising costs and weak pricing power. Sony-owned developer Bungie announced this week it is cutting almost a fifth of its workforce.
Shares in Nintendo fell 2.3% in Tokyo ahead of the earnings announcement and are up 7.6% year to date.