OpenAI is now set to lose yet another of its top, long-time executives. This time, it is Mira Murati, Chief Technology Officer at the AI firm, who has officially announced her departure from the startup after more than six years. Murati announced the same in a post on X, saying that her time with OpenAI has been “an extraordinary privilege.”
“I will forever be grateful for the opportunity to build and work alongside this remarkable team. Together, we’ve pushed the boundaries of scientific understanding in our quest to improve human well-being. While I may no longer be in the trenches with you, I will still be rooting for you all. With deep gratitude for the friendships forged, the triumphs achieved, and most importantly, the challenges overcome together,” she wrote in her statement on X.
Murati has been a well-known face at OpenAI, having represented the organization at multiple events and discussions. It was back in 2017 when she first joined OpenAI, and since then, she has made significant contributions to some of its most important projects. For example, she has contributed to some of OpenAI’s flagship products – like ChatGPT (the popular conversational chatbot) and DALL-E (the text-to-image creator models). In addition to this, she also served as the firm’s VP of Applied AI and Partnerships, and as CTO, she oversaw the development of tech such as the GPT-4 model, which introduced several new features such as realistic voice conversations.
Last year, when CEO Sam Altman was temporarily ousted by the board, Murati had stepped in as the interim chief, providing stability to the firm during a moment of internal crisis. Her support for Altman, along with the backing of over 500 employees, was instrumental in his eventual reinstatement. In her farewell statement, Murati expressed a desire to “create time and space to do [her] own exploration,” adding that she will mostly be focusing on a smooth transition for OpenAI.
For this part, Altman praised Murati’s contributions to the company, describing her as an indispensable part of OpenAI’s success. “I feel tremendous gratitude towards her for what she has helped us build and accomplish, but I most of all feel personal gratitude towards her for the support and love during all the hard times. I am excited for what she’ll do next,” Altman replied to Murati’s post on X.
I replied with this. Mira, thank you for everything.
It’s hard to overstate how much Mira has meant to OpenAI, our mission, and to us all personally.
I feel tremendous gratitude towards her for what she has helped us build and accomplish, but I most of all feel personal…
— Sam Altman (@sama) September 25, 2024
Murati’s resignation is the latest in a series of high-profile departures from OpenAI this year. Just hours after Murati made her announcement, two other senior leaders—Barret Zoph, Vice President of Research, and Bob McGrew, Chief Research Officer—also announced they were leaving the company. These exits follow earlier departures of co-founder John Schulman and Chief Scientist Ilya Sutskever, who left earlier in 2023.
This development also comes at a time when the Microsoft-backed OpenAI is in the process of finalizing a $6.5 billion funding round, which could value the company at over $150 billion. This round of funding is reportedly tied to a corporate restructuring that would see OpenAI transition from its current non-profit status to a for-profit benefit corporation. In addition to its ongoing fundraising efforts, the firm is also preparing for its annual Dev Day conference in San Francisco, where the company is set to unveil updates to its developer tools.
