OpenAI hires rival Anthropic staffer for $555,000 safety role

OpenAI has appointed Dylan Scandinaro as the Head of Preparedness, a staff member from rival AI firm Anthropic.

The role drew attention in December after the firm posted a job listing offering a base salary of up to $555,000 a year. On Tuesday, OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman announced the hire in a post on the social media platform X.

According to the original job listing, Scandinaro will be responsible for helping ensure the safe development and deployment of OpenAI’s AI systems and preparing the company for risks associated with increasingly powerful models.

Anthropic, his former employer, is known for positioning itself as a more safety-focused AI developer.

The appointment highlights intensifying competition among AI companies for talent, particularly in areas related to safety and risk management, as firms race to develop more advanced systems.

Altman said in his post that OpenAI expects to work with extremely powerful models in the near future and noted that Scandinaro faces a demanding task, underscoring the growing importance of preparedness as AI capabilities advance.

Altman in his post noted, “I am extremely excited to welcome @dylanscand to OpenAI as our Head of Preparedness. Things are about to move quite fast and we will be working with extremely powerful models soon. This will require commensurate safeguards to ensure we can continue to deliver tremendous benefits. Dylan will lead our efforts to prepare for and mitigate these severe risks. He is by far the best candidate I have met, anywhere, for this role. He has his work cut out for him for sure, but I will sleep better tonight. I am looking forward to working with him very closely to make the changes we will need across our entire company.”