Mira Murati, Chief Technology Officer at Microsoft-backed OpenAI, has announced her departure from the artificial intelligence startup, marking the latest in a series of executive exits this year. Murati, who played a key role in OpenAI’s advancements, shared the news via a post on X (formerly Twitter), stating her desire to "create the time and space to do [her] own exploration."
In her message, Murati expressed gratitude towards OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and co-founder Greg Brockman, reflecting on their collaborative success in pushing the boundaries of AI. “I have made the difficult decision to leave OpenAI,” she wrote, thanking the team for their work together.
Just hours after Murati’s announcement, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman revealed that two additional senior technical leaders, Barret Zoph, VP of Research, and Bob McGrew, Chief Research Officer, also resigned. Their exits are the latest in a series of leadership changes at the company.
These departures come as OpenAI prepares to finalise a significant $6.5 billion funding round, which could value the company at $150 billion, according to a report by Reuters. The financing deal reportedly hinges on restructuring OpenAI into a for-profit benefit corporation, a move that would also grant Altman an equity stake, the report added. It remains unclear if Murati’s exit will impact the ongoing fundraising efforts, as such agreements often include clauses that allow investors to reconsider terms in the event of major leadership changes.
Murati has been with OpenAI for over six years, having joined in 2017. She briefly stepped into the role of CEO during the company’s leadership, following the board’s temporary ousting of Altman. Prior to her tenure as CTO, a position she assumed in May 2022, Murati served as OpenAI’s VP of Applied AI and Partnerships. Her career has also included key roles at Tesla and augmented reality startup Leap Motion.
As CTO, Murati was a prominent public figure at OpenAI, appearing alongside Altman to introduce major innovations, including the launch of the GPT-4o model, capable of conducting realistic voice conversations.
OpenAI has seen multiple leadership departures this year. In August, co-founder John Schulman announced on X that he had joined rival AI company Anthropic. Co-founder Greg Brockman also revealed that he was taking a sabbatical through the end of the year, while Chief Scientist and co-founder Ilya Sutskever left the company in May.
Amid these changes, Altman confirmed several internal promotions: Matt Knight will serve as Chief Information Security Officer, Josh Achiam will lead Mission Alignment, and Mark Chen will step into the role of Senior Vice President of Research.
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