OpenAI’s Mira Murati is leaving the AI company after six years, according to a tweet from the CTO on Wednesday. The news of Murati’s departure came shortly before a report by Reuters that OpenAI is being restructured into a for-profit company that will give co-founder Sam Altman $150 billion in equity.
Murati opened the tweet about her departure by stating that she was making the “difficult decision” to leave OpenAI “after much reflection.” It’s not clear if Murati’s departure has anything to do with the reported restructuring at OpenAI, which will mean the company is no longer controlled by its non-profit board.
“I’m stepping away because I want to create the time and space to do my own exploration,” Murtai wrote. “For now, my primary focus is doing everything in my power to ensure a smooth transition, maintaining the momentum we’ve built.”
Murati thanked Altman and Greg Brockman in her tweet for their “support throughout the years.” Brockman has been on leave from the company since early August.
“There’s never an ideal time to step away from a place one cherishes, yet this moment feels right,” Murati wrote. “Our recent releases of speech-to-speech and OpenAl o1 mark the beginning of a new era in interaction and intelligence – achievements made possible by your ingenuity and craftsmanship. We didn’t merely build smarter models, we fundamentally changed how Al systems learn and reason through complex problems.”
The restructuring of OpenAI is “still being hashed out with lawyers and shareholders,” according to Reuters, but the move is apparently an attempt to make the company more attractive to investors.
Altman tweeted a reply to Murati’s departing message on Wednesday which gave no indication that she was leaving on bad terms.
“It’s hard to overstate how much Mira has meant to OpenAI, our mission, and to us all personally,” Altman tweeted. “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.”
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 tenure included some controversial moments, like when she was asked by the Wall Street Journal back in March about whether OpenAI, which makes ChatGPT, uses YouTube for training data for the company’s AI video generator, Sora. Murati made an awkward face that became famous as a joke online.
Murati briefly served as an interim CEO for OpenAI during the failed ouster of Altman by the board of directors back in November 2023. Altman, who found powerful allies at Microsoft and in the halls of Congress, was reinstated but it’s still not entirely clear what caused the board of directors to originally push him out.
“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,” Murati wrote in her departing tweet.
“While I may no longer be in the trenches with you, I will still be rooting for you all,” Murati continued. “With deep gratitude for the friendships forged, the triumphs achieved, and most importantly, the challenges overcome together.”
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