On Wednesday, OpenAI’s Chief Technical Officer Mira Murati shocked the tech community by announcing her resignation via the social media platform X. Murati had been with OpenAI since 2018, contributing in various high-level roles and most recently as the CTO. On the same day, OpenAI’s Chief Research Officer Bob McGrew and VP of Research Barret Zoph also stepped down, a move that, according to CEO Sam Altman, might have been influenced by Murati’s departure.
“After careful consideration, I’ve decided to depart from OpenAI,” Murati conveyed in a communication to the company’s staff. “I will soon extend my thanks to many, but I want to first acknowledge Sam and Greg for their faith in me to steer the technical division and for their consistent support over the years,” she added, referring to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and President Greg Brockman. “Leaving is never easy, but now feels like the right moment.”
During her tenure at OpenAI, Murati managed the company’s technical direction and product development, which included the rollout and enhancement of technologies like DALL-E, Codex, Sora, and the ChatGPT platform. She also led research and safety initiatives. Murati often discussed the ethical implications of AI technology in her public statements.
The trio’s departure coincides with a pivotal time for OpenAI as it plans to shift from a nonprofit to a for-profit benefit corporation. A Reuters report released on Wednesday indicated that this restructuring would dilute the nonprofit board’s control, potentially placing a 7 percent equity stake in the hands of CEO Sam Altman, and possibly valuing OpenAI at $150 billion.
Speaking at the Italian Tech Week conference in Turin, as reported by Reuters, CEO Sam Altman refuted any connection between the leadership changes and the restructuring plan. “That’s absolutely not true,” Altman stated, explaining that the consideration to restructure has been ongoing for nearly a year, well before the recent resignations.
Murati noted that her decision was driven by a need to “carve out time and space for personal exploration,” although she did not reveal her next steps. McGrew shared in an X post, “It’s time for a break. Shipping o1 to the world is a fitting culmination to my efforts here.” Zoph expressed on Twitter, “This moment feels right for seeking new challenges outside of OpenAI. It’s a personal choice about how I want to shape my career moving forward.”
Legacy of Safety and Research
In announcing her departure, Murati emphasized recent innovations at OpenAI, such as advancements in speech-to-speech technology and the launch of OpenAI o1. She praised the company’s strides in safety research and the development of AI models that are “more robust, aligned, and controllable.”
Altman responded to Murati’s tweet directly, expressing his deep gratitude for her contributions and her personal support during challenging times, likely referring to the eventful period in November 2023 when the OpenAI board briefly ousted Altman from his position.
“It’s hard to overstate how much Mira has meant to OpenAI, our mission, and to us personally,” he wrote. “I am immensely grateful for her impact on our achievements and for her support and affection during the tough times. I’m excited to see what she does next.”
Continued Leadership Changes
With the exit of Murati and others, Altman remains one of the few longstanding senior leaders at OpenAI, which has experienced considerable turnover in its executive ranks. In May 2024, former Chief Scientist Ilya Sutskever left to start his own venture, Safe Superintelligence, Inc. (SSI), aiming to develop superior AI capabilities. This followed just six months after Sutskever played a role in the temporary removal of Altman as CEO.
Earlier in 2024, OpenAI co-founder John Schulman left to join competing AI firm Anthropic, and in August, OpenAI President Greg Brockman announced he would take a temporary sabbatical until the year’s end.
The frequent changes in leadership have sparked speculation about the internal atmosphere at OpenAI under Altman’s leadership, as well as the direction of its research toward artificial general intelligence (AGI)—a theoretical technology capable of performing tasks at human-level cognition.
“Why would key members leave an organization just as it’s on the cusp of developing AGI?” posed xAI developer Benjamin De Kraker in a post on X after Murati’s announcement. “It’s akin to leaving NASA just before a moon landing. Wouldn’t you want to stay and be a part of that?” he questioned.
Murati’s departure raises questions about her successor, but it seems some of her duties might be divided among several new positions. In another announcement later on Wednesday, Altman revealed that Mark Chen would be appointed as SVP of Research and Josh Achiam would become head of Mission Alignment, with no immediate replacement for CTO announced. It appears OpenAI is moving toward a corporate structure with more centralized control under Altman.
In his statement, Altman mentioned that Chen and Achiam, along with other technical team members, would now report directly to him. “I’ve spent much of the past year focused on the non-technical aspects of our organization,” Altman noted. “I am now eager to dedicate more of my time to the technical and product facets of the company.”
This article was updated on September 26, 2024, at 8:43 am to include news about Bob McGrew and Barret Zoph’s resignations. It was updated again at 1:42 pm Eastern Time to include a statement from Sam Altman denying any link between OpenAI’s restructuring and the recent departures.
I am Sofia, a tech-savvy journalist and passionate member of the “Jason Deegan” team. Growing up, I was always fascinated by the latest technological advancements and loved sharing my knowledge with others.