Paradigm has launched Surface, an AI-native platform that helps talent leaders connect culture to business performance by unifying fragmented people data. The platform integrates information from HRIS systems, engagement platforms, performance reviews and other sources to provide a comprehensive view of organisational culture. Surface offers three core capabilities: unified intelligence across disparate systems, benchmarking against real-world talent practices from Paradigm's decade of consulting work, and the Surface Agent — an agentic AI that acts as a strategic adviser and execution partner. The agent can draft policies, generate board reports, analyse attrition trends and design training programmes. The platform aims to reduce work that traditionally took months of consulting into minutes. Surface is now available, with dozens of companies currently being onboarded.

OpenAI unveils EVMbench benchmark to evaluate AI in smart contracts. OpenAI and Paradigm launch EVMbench to test AI's ability to detect and fix vulnerabilities in smart contracts, securing $100B in crypto assets. By Maxwell Mutuma February 19, 2026 3 Mins Read Tldr. * OpenAI and Paradigm have launched EVMbench to evaluate AI's performance in smart contract security. * The benchmark tests AI systems in detecting vulnerabilities, patching code, and executing fund-draining exploits. * EVMbench uses 120 high-risk vulnerabilities sourced from 40 professional audits to simulate real-world scenarios. * GPT-5.3-Codex achieved a 72.2% success rate in exploit tasks, a notable improvement over GPT-5's 31.9% performance. * OpenAI has invested $10 million in API credits to support open-source security initiatives and strengthen smart contract defenses. OpenAI and Paradigm have unveiled a new smart contract security evaluation system called EVMbench. This benchmark aims to assess AI systems in detecting vulnerabilities and executing exploits in Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) environments. With smart contracts securing over $100 billion in crypto assets, testing the security of these contracts has become crucial. Testing AI in smart contract security. OpenAI, in collaboration with Paradigm, launched EVMbench to evaluate how AI handles security in smart contracts. The benchmark leverages 120 curated vulnerabilities from 40 professional audits, including scenarios from the Tempo blockchain. The system evaluates AI models in three distinct tasks: detecting vulnerabilities, patching code, and executing fund-draining exploits in a sandboxed EVM environment. EVMbench focuses on Ethereum-based contracts and incorporates scenarios that reflect real financial applications. The use of 120 high-risk issues, along with data from public auditing competitions, helps to simulate actual challenges faced in the crypto space. OpenAI developed this system to address the growing concern over AI's role in identifying and mitigating risks in smart contract security. EVMbench's capabilities and performance. The benchmark provides a comprehensive approach to testing AI agents by evaluating their capabilities in different security tasks. In detection mode, the agents review contract code to identify known vulnerabilities. In patch mode, the AI must fix these vulnerabilities without compromising the contract's functionality. Recent testing showed impressive results with the GPT-5.3-Codex model achieving a 72.2% success rate in exploit tasks, up from 31.9% with the GPT-5 model. Despite these advancements, detection and patching performance remained lower. OpenAI noted that while the benchmark gives a glimpse into AI's potential, it does not fully replicate real-world conditions, as some complex multi-chain and timing-based attacks are excluded from the testing framework. OpenAI expands security efforts. OpenAI's announcement also highlighted its broader commitment to security. As part of the release, the company invested $10 million in API credits to support open-source security projects. The company also emphasized that all EVMbench tools and datasets have been made publicly available for further research and development. The launch of EVMbench is seen as a step toward strengthening the cybersecurity of smart contracts and blockchain systems. With the increasing reliance on smart contracts, OpenAI aims to help the industry address emerging risks by testing AI systems in critical financial settings. As AI continues to evolve, its role in both defending and attacking smart contracts will be crucial for maintaining the integrity of the crypto ecosystem. Maxwell is a crypto-economic analyst and blockchain enthusiast, passionate about helping people understand the potential of decentralized technology. His goal is to spread knowledge about this revolutionary technology and its implications for economic freedom and social good. February 19, 2026