Daniela Amodei

Daniela Amodei
Born	Template:Birth year and age
Nationality	American
Occupation	Entrepreneur, technology executive
Title	President and Co-founder of Anthropic
Known for	Co-founding Anthropic, Vice President of Safety and Policy at OpenAI
Education	University of California, Santa Cruz (BA)
Children	1
Awards	Time 100 Most Influential People in AI (2023)

Daniela Amodei (born 1987) is an American entrepreneur and technology executive who serves as the president and co-founder of Anthropic, an artificial intelligence safety company that develops the series of frontier large language models known as Claude. Before co-founding Anthropic in 2021 alongside her brother Dario Amodei and several other former OpenAI researchers, she held the position of Vice President of Safety and Policy at OpenAI, where she built and led the company's trust and safety operations. At Anthropic, Amodei oversees business operations, go-to-market strategy, finance, and policy as the company has grown into one of the most prominent AI firms in the world. She has been recognized by Time magazine as one of the 100 Most Influential People in AI and by Fortune on its Most Powerful Women list. Her public advocacy has centered on the responsible development and deployment of AI systems, and she has spoken about the continued importance of humanistic skills and the humanities in an era increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence.

Early Life

Daniela Amodei grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. She attended Lowell High School in San Francisco, a public magnet school known for its academic rigor. Her brother, Dario Amodei, who would later become the CEO of Anthropic, shared a similar intellectual upbringing. The Amodei siblings have spoken publicly about their close working relationship, which ultimately led them to co-found Anthropic together.

Amodei's background was not originally in computer science or engineering. She has noted that her academic interests were rooted in the humanities and social sciences, an experience she has cited in public discussions about the value of non-technical education in the technology industry. This perspective would later inform her leadership philosophy at Anthropic, where she has emphasized the importance of diverse disciplinary perspectives in building safe and beneficial AI systems.

Education

Amodei earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Her academic training was not in a traditional STEM field, a fact she has discussed publicly in the context of advocating for the relevance of humanities education in the technology sector. In a February 2026 interview, Amodei stated that uniquely human qualities cultivated through humanities study would be "more important than ever" in the age of AI, and that organizations should "prize the things that make us human," including skills developed through studying literature and other humanistic disciplines.

Career

Early Career and OpenAI

Prior to co-founding Anthropic, Amodei held several positions in the technology industry. She joined OpenAI, the artificial intelligence research organization, where she rose to the role of Vice President of Safety and Policy. In that capacity, she was responsible for building and managing the company's trust and safety operations, overseeing policy development related to the responsible deployment of AI systems.

Her tenure at OpenAI coincided with a period of rapid growth and increasing public attention toward the organization's work on large language models and other AI technologies. The experience shaped her views on the importance of safety-focused AI development and the governance challenges posed by increasingly capable AI systems. During her time at OpenAI, she worked alongside her brother Dario Amodei, who served as Vice President of Research at the organization.

Founding of Anthropic

In 2021, Daniela Amodei co-founded Anthropic alongside her brother Dario Amodei and several other former OpenAI researchers. The departure of the Amodei siblings and their colleagues from OpenAI was part of a broader disagreement over the direction of AI development and safety practices at the organization. The founding of Anthropic marked the beginning of what would become one of the most prominent rivalries in the AI industry, between Anthropic and OpenAI.

Anthropic was established as a public benefit corporation, reflecting its stated mission to develop AI systems that are safe, beneficial, and understandable. The company adopted what it described as a research-first approach to AI safety, investing heavily in techniques for making large language models more aligned with human values and less prone to harmful outputs.

Daniela Amodei assumed the role of president, taking charge of the company's business operations, including finance, go-to-market strategy, revenue, security, enterprise sales, and policy work. Dario Amodei became the chief executive officer, focusing primarily on the research and technical direction of the company.

Growth of Anthropic and Claude

Under Daniela Amodei's operational leadership, Anthropic grew rapidly. The company developed Claude, a series of large language models that became a leading competitor to OpenAI's ChatGPT and GPT-4. Claude was designed with a focus on safety and helpfulness, incorporating techniques such as constitutional AI, a method developed by Anthropic researchers for training AI systems to follow a set of principles.

The naming of Claude itself became a point of public interest. A report in The Wall Street Journal explored the origins of the chatbot's name and the corporate culture at Anthropic, including the company's use of an albino alligator as a kind of informal mascot.

Anthropic secured significant venture capital and strategic investment to fund its research and operations. By February 2026, the company's valuation had reached approximately $38 billion, and the seven co-founders of Anthropic—including Daniela Amodei—had seen their personal fortunes grow substantially, with Forbes reporting that the billionaire co-founders had "nearly double[d] their fortunes" as the company's valuation soared.

Role as President

As president, Amodei's responsibilities at Anthropic span the non-research functions of the company. She has described her role as ensuring the company's operational infrastructure can support its research ambitions while maintaining the safety-focused principles that motivated the company's founding. In interviews, she has discussed the challenges of scaling a company whose mission includes safety constraints that may slow the pace of development compared to competitors who prioritize speed.

Amodei has been a prominent public representative for Anthropic, speaking at industry events, giving media interviews, and engaging with policymakers. Her public communications have emphasized the dual nature of AI technology—its potential for significant benefit alongside the risks of misuse or unintended consequences. In a Times (London) profile, she made the case for "trustworthy AI," arguing that companies have a responsibility to develop and deploy AI systems with appropriate safeguards.

In February 2026, Amodei appeared on the Sixth Street podcast It's Not Magic during its San Francisco season, where she discussed her work at Anthropic and the broader trajectory of AI development.

Anthropic and OpenAI Rivalry

The relationship between Anthropic and OpenAI has been characterized by media outlets as one of the defining rivalries in the AI industry. The two companies compete for talent, funding, enterprise customers, and public trust. Coverage in Fortune and Business Insider in February 2026 described the history of the split, noting that the departure of Dario Amodei, Daniela Amodei, and their colleagues from OpenAI was driven by disagreements about the organization's approach to AI safety and commercialization.

A February 2026 New York Times article examined Anthropic's philosophical foundations and its roots in effective altruism, a movement that emphasizes using evidence and reasoning to determine the most effective ways to benefit others. The article noted that Anthropic's approach to AI development—including its willingness to impose restrictions on how its technology is used—was informed by the beliefs of its founders, including the Amodei siblings.

The rivalry has extended into geopolitics; in February 2026, both companies' leaders were present at an AI Impact Summit in New Delhi, India, as they competed for influence in emerging AI markets. A photo opportunity at the summit involving OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei attracted media attention when the two reportedly refused to hold hands, underscoring the tensions between the organizations.

AI Safety and Policy Positions

Daniela Amodei has spoken publicly about Anthropic's relationship with government and military institutions. In February 2026, reports indicated that U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth summoned Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei for a meeting described as "not a friendly" discussion about the terms under which Anthropic's Claude models could be used for military purposes. The New York Times reported that the conflict had its roots in Anthropic's foundational commitment to restricting certain uses of its AI systems.

Amodei has also emphasized the importance of interdisciplinary approaches to AI safety and governance. In February 2026, she argued that humanities education would become "more important than ever" as AI systems became more capable, stating that soft skills, critical thinking, and the ability to understand human values were essential for guiding the development and deployment of AI. She advocated for organizations to "prize the things that make us human," including capacities developed through studying literature and other non-technical subjects.

Personal Life

Daniela Amodei has one child. Her brother, Dario Amodei, serves as the CEO of Anthropic. The two siblings have maintained a close working partnership throughout their careers, from their time together at OpenAI through the founding and operation of Anthropic. Their sibling co-leadership of one of the most prominent AI companies has drawn media attention as an unusual dynamic in Silicon Valley.

Amodei is based in the San Francisco Bay Area, where Anthropic is headquartered.

Recognition

In 2023, Time magazine named Daniela Amodei and her brother Dario Amodei to its inaugural list of the 100 Most Influential People in AI. The recognition cited their roles in founding Anthropic and their influence on the trajectory of AI safety research and development.

Fast Company profiled Amodei in 2023, highlighting her efforts to keep Anthropic's development practices grounded in safety principles as the company scaled its operations and products.

Fortune included Amodei on its Most Powerful Women list in 2025, recognizing her role as president of one of the leading AI companies in the world.

Time magazine also featured Anthropic in a separate profile examining the company's approach to AI development and its positioning in the broader AI industry.

Amodei's profile in major media outlets, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Wired, The Times (London), and Business Insider, has grown alongside Anthropic's emergence as one of the principal competitors in the frontier AI space. She has been featured as a speaker and commentator on AI safety, corporate governance, and the societal implications of advanced AI systems.

Legacy

As of early 2026, Daniela Amodei's legacy is closely tied to the trajectory of Anthropic and the broader AI safety movement. Her role in co-founding and operating Anthropic has placed her at the center of debates about how powerful AI systems should be developed, governed, and deployed. The company's public benefit corporation structure, its emphasis on constitutional AI, and its willingness to impose use restrictions on its own products—including in the context of military applications—have distinguished Anthropic from some of its competitors and have been attributed in part to the values of its founding team, including Amodei.

Amodei's advocacy for the continued relevance of humanities education and soft skills in the technology sector has contributed to a growing public conversation about the role of non-technical knowledge in shaping the future of AI. Her argument that organizations developing AI should "prize the things that make us human" has been cited in discussions about hiring practices, educational policy, and the cultural direction of the technology industry.

As one of the few women leading a major AI company at the frontier of the industry, Amodei's prominence has also drawn attention to questions of gender representation in technology leadership. Her inclusion on Fortune's Most Powerful Women list in 2025 reflected both her individual accomplishments and the broader significance of her position in a predominantly male industry.

With Anthropic's valuation reaching approximately $38 billion by early 2026, and its Claude models competing at the frontier of AI capability, Amodei's influence on the commercial and policy dimensions of AI development continues to grow.