# OpenAI Hires Patreon Leaders for Creator Tools

> OpenAI brings Patreon founders to build creator revenue tools.
- Title: OpenAI Hires Patreon Leaders for Creator Tools · Pymnts
- Summary: OpenAI brings Patreon founders to build creator revenue tools. OpenAI hired Patreon co-founder Sam Yam and two former deputies to launch creator products…
- Keywords: openai, patreon, sam yam, creator product, devday, recurring revenue, chatgpt, sora, business, finance, Hires, Leaders
- Source: Pymnts — https://pymnts.com/news/artificial-intelligence/2026/openai-brings-in-patreons-founders-to-build-a-creator-business
- Author: PYMNTS
- Published: 2026-09-24T19:22:07+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: openai, patreon, sam yam, creator product, devday, recurring revenue, chatgpt, sora, business, finance
## OpenAI hires Patreon co-founder
OpenAI hired Patreon Co-Founder Sam Yam and two of his former deputies to run a new Creator Product division.

> OpenAI has hired the people who built the largest membership business in the creator economy
## Patreon’s revenue model
Patreon has earned more than $10 billion since 2013 with over 10 million fans paying monthly.

> more than 300,000 creators use its platform, more than 10 million fans pay for memberships each month
## Team expertise
Sam Yam ran Patreon technology for 13 years, Drew Rowny from Google, and Shannon Ma from Facebook.

> Yam ran its technology for 13 years. Rowny came from Google and Ma from Facebook
## Creator tools gap
OpenAI’s tools so far have focused on output without recurring revenue models Patreon uses.

> OpenAI’s creator products so far have been about output. ChatGPT writes, DALL-E draws and, until this spring, Sora made video
## ChatGPT’s declining share
ChatGPT’s share of AI prompts fell from 70% in January to 50% in June 2026.

> ChatGPT’s share of AI prompt volume fell from 70% in January to 50% in June
## Sora shutdown
OpenAI shut down its AI video generator Sora after it peaked at 1 million users.

> Sora peaked at about 1 million users and fell below 500,000 before OpenAI shuttered the app in April
## Creator business strategy
OpenAI aims to build creator tools that turn audiences into recurring revenue for advertisers.

> Creators are a natural next step. They bring audiences, and audiences bring advertisers and subscribers
## Key takeaway

OpenAI hired Patreon co-founder Sam Yam and two former deputies to launch creator products with recurring revenue focus.