OpenAI hires three former leaders from Patreon for a new Creator Product division, will showcase the first tools at DevDay on 29 September

OpenAI plans to present the first preview of new tools for content creators at DevDay, which takes place on 29 September 2026. The tools are being developed under the newly established Creator Product division. The division will be led by Sam Yam, co-founder and chief technology officer (CTO) of Patreon, who worked there for more than 13 years. In an announcement on X, Yam wrote that he would share early access to a suite of tools he described as “critically valuable” for creators and their communities.

Joining OpenAI alongside Yam are Drew Rowny, former head of product at Patreon, and Shannon Ma, former head of engineering at Patreon — both left Patreon in recent weeks. According to his own account, Yam addressed the tension between AI companies and content creators, which has persisted for years because of models trained on protected content and automated production threatening their work. He said that human creativity remains “paramount” and that creators have the power to “shape culture” and “unite diverse communities”, while also seeing potential in AI as a creative tool.

The departure of three key people is another blow to Patreon, which laid off 20 percent of its employees in January and is now, according to sources, restructuring its product functions as part of an extensive update plan. Hiring former leadership from Patreon suggests that OpenAI is preparing to enter the content creator monetization business — an area whose basic model Patreon effectively defined as a platform for creator subscriptions.