Sam Altman announced that Steinberger is joining OpenAI to drive the next generation of personal agents. The announcement was made during coverage of industry developments, highlighting the move as a notable recruitment of a proven AI product builder.
Steinberger previously worked at Anthropic, where he was involved in developing advanced AI capabilities. According to available reporting, he had contributed to the company’s AI product initiatives before departing for OpenAI.
At Anthropic, Steinberger was associated with AI agent development work. The company’s Claude model, specifically Claude Opus 4.5, was positioned as a default model in agent-related applications. Industry observers noted that Steinberger’s work represented an important class of AI products focused on agentic capabilities.
According to available commentary, Steinberger eventually departed Anthropic, with reports suggesting he had lost enthusiasm for the company’s direction. This departure potentially represents a significant loss for Anthropic in the competitive race to develop advanced AI agents.
The recruitment of experienced AI product developers to OpenAI reflects ongoing competition among major AI laboratories to build next-generation agent systems. Steinberger’s transition from Anthropic to OpenAI underscores the talent competition in AI development, particularly in the emerging agents category.
AI agents—systems designed to autonomously perform tasks on behalf of users—represent a major focus area for both companies. The movement of key personnel between competing organizations signals the strategic importance of this technology domain.
OpenAI is expected to leverage Steinberger’s expertise in developing advanced AI agent capabilities. The company’s agent development roadmap may benefit from his previous experience building AI products at Anthropic.
Industry observers will likely monitor OpenAI‘s agent announcements in coming months to assess the impact of this hire. Anthropic may seek to replace key talent and accelerate its own agent development initiatives in response.
The hiring move occurs within a broader competitive landscape where major AI companies are racing to develop capable autonomous agents. Both OpenAI and Anthropic have positioned agents as a critical next frontier for AI systems, following advances in large language models.
Related industry events include Microsoft‘s “Welcome to the Prompts” conference, scheduled for in San Diego, which focuses on AI agents and opportunities in the agent ecosystem. This event reflects broader industry momentum around agentic AI development.
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