Anthropic secures Mysten Labs CTO for AI-powered cybersecurity initiatives
Sam Blackshear, co-founder of Mysten Labs, announces his transition to Anthropic, citing the evolving dynamics between cyber attackers and defenders in the AI era.
In a significant career move, Sam Blackshear, who serves as co-founder and chief technology officer at Mysten Labs, has revealed his decision to depart the company and join forces with Anthropic to focus on defensive security research initiatives.
Together with four other former Meta executives, Blackshear established Mysten Labs — the company behind the Sui blockchain — in September 2021. In his announcement, Blackshear revealed that Mysten Labs co-founder and CEO Evan Cheng is prepared to assume responsibility for establishing the "technical vision" at Mysten moving into the future.
"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."
The timing of his exit coincides with a period where AI technology is being increasingly leveraged to detect software vulnerabilities, streamline phishing campaigns and speed up attacks targeting blockchain infrastructure.
According to Blackshear, he will continue to serve as a close advisor to Mysten and the Sui ecosystem, and expressed his enthusiasm about maintaining his involvement with the Move Foundation.