OpenAI hires Patreon’s co-founder as its creator push expands

OpenAI has been busy courting creators, and its latest hire suggests it wants to give them more reasons to stick around.

The company behind ChatGPT is bringing in Patreon co-founder Sam Yam to lead its Creator Product division, recruiting someone who has spent more than a decade helping creators build businesses around their audiences.

Yam is joining alongside two former Patreon executives: Drew Rowny, who led product, and Shannon Ma, who led engineering, as Yam announced on his X account.

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Together, the three execs bring experience building tools for people whose livelihoods depend on making things and persuading fans to support them.

Yam co-founded Patreon with musician Jack Conte in 2013, helping popularize memberships that let creators earn money directly from their communities.

That makes the move interesting beyond the usual executive shuffle.

OpenAI is hiring people who understand what creators need to run a business, from developing paid offerings to maintaining relationships with fans.

Their arrival raises questions about how those ideas might show up in OpenAI’s products.

SEE ALSO: Why is OpenAI losing so many executives? We may not have to wait long for a clearer picture of what's in store.

Yam pointed to OpenAI’s upcoming DevDay for a preview of its creator products.

The event takes place Sept.

29 in San Francisco .