Mysten Labs CTO Sam Blackshear Leaves Sui Developer to Join Anthropic for AI Security Research

Sam Blackshear, cofounder and CTO of Mysten Labs, is leaving the Sui developer to join Anthropic for AI-focused defensive security research. Blackshear, who created the Move programming language, will remain an adviser to Mysten Labs and Sui developers. Mysten Labs CEO Evan Cheng will assume the company's technical vision, while Anthropic continues expanding its defensive cyber research amid rapid advancements in AI vulnerability discovery.

Blackshear departure from Mysten Labs

• ▪Mysten Labs cofounder and chief technology officer Sam Blackshear announced on August 5, 2026, that he is leaving the company to join Anthropic.
• ▪Sam Blackshear plans to remain as a close adviser to Mysten Labs and developers across the Sui blockchain ecosystem.

AI-enabled security research shift

• ▪Sam Blackshear is joining Anthropic to conduct defensive security research involving artificial intelligence.
• ▪Sam Blackshear stated he was motivated to work on security because the balance of power between attackers and defenders is shifting.

Mysten Labs leadership transition

• ▪Mysten Labs has not disclosed whether it will appoint a new chief technology officer or redistribute Sam Blackshear's duties.
• ▪Mysten Labs cofounder and chief executive officer Evan Cheng will assume the company's technical vision following Sam Blackshear's departure.

Move Foundation development plans

• ▪Sam Blackshear stated that a Move Foundation is in development and he intends to remain involved after its creation.
• ▪No official organization, launch date, or timetable has been finalized for the proposed Move Foundation.

Anthropic defensive security expansion

• ▪Anthropic reported in June 2026 that it studied and banned 832 accounts linked to malicious activity.
• ▪Anthropic is expanding its defensive cyber research as frontier artificial intelligence models improve software vulnerability discovery capabilities.