Mysten Labs tech chief joins Anthropic to work on AI security

Sam Blackshear, the co-founder and chief technology officer of Mysten Labs, has announced he will be stepping down to join Anthropic and work on defensive security research.

Blackshear, along with four former Meta executives, founded Mysten Labs — the creator of the Sui blockchain — in September 2021. Blackshear said Mysten Labs co-founder and CEO Evan Cheng will step in to set the “technical vision” for Mysten going forward.

“When I reflect on my career, I have been happiest doing hands-on technical work while exploring new problem domains,” said Blackshear. “This is an opportunity to do both, and I’m motivated to work on security at a time when the balance of power between attackers and defenders is shifting.”

His departure comes as AI is increasingly being used to identify software vulnerabilities, automate phishing campaigns and accelerate attacks on blockchain infrastructure.

Blackshear said he will remain a close advisor to Mysten and the Sui ecosystem, and said he is eager to stay involved in the Move Foundation.