OpenAI CTO Mira Murati and three other executives announce departures

Mira Murati , Chief Technology Officer of OpenAI, who joined OpenAI in 2018 and has been involved in the development of ChatGPT, has announced that she will retire from OpenAI on September 25, 2024.

I shared the following note with the OpenAI team today. pic.twitter.com/nsZ4khI06P

— Mira Murati (@miramurati) September 25, 2024

OpenAI CTO Mira Murati announces she's leaving the company
https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2024/09/25/openai-cto-mira-murati-announces-shes-leaving-the-company.html

OpenAI's chief research officer has left | TechCrunch
https://techcrunch.com/2024/09/25/openais-chief-research-officer-has-left/

'After much consideration, I have made the difficult decision to retire from OpenAI. While there will never be a perfect time to leave the place I care about at OpenAI, I feel the timing is right at this time of year and with OpenAI at its peak,' Murati said.

He also explained that the reason for his retirement was to 'create time and space for self-exploration,' and that 'I am doing all I can to ensure a smooth transition as I move forward with my retirement.'

'She has contributed greatly to the progress and growth of OpenAI over the past six and a half years. She has played a key role in advancing OpenAI since it was an unknown research lab,' said OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. 'I was saddened when Ms. Murati informed me of her intention to retire, but of course I accept her decision. Over the past year, she has developed a strong leadership team to continue OpenAI's progress.'

i just posted this note to openai:

Hi All–

Mira has been instrumental to OpenAI's progress and growth the last 6.5 years; she has been a hugely significant factor in our development from an unknown research lab to an important company.

When Mira informed me this morning that…

— Sam Altman (@sama) September 26, 2024

After serving as a senior product manager at electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla and other positions, Murati joined OpenAI in 2018. He was involved in the development of ChatGPT and was described as 'one of the brains behind ChatGPT.' In November 2023, when Altman was fired from OpenAI , Murati was appointed interim CEO to replace Altman. Murati's career history is summarized in the following article.

Who is Mira Murati, who became the interim CEO of OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT? - GIGAZINE

In addition to Murathi, Bob McGrew, who joined OpenAI in 2017 and served as its chief research officer, has also indicated his intention to retire.

I just shared this with OpenAI: pic.twitter.com/1gTCbigdsS

— Bob McGrew (@bobmcgrewai) September 26, 2024

Barrett Zoff, vice president of research, also announced his retirement on the same day.

I posted this note to OpenAI.

Hey everybody, I have decided to leave OpenAI.

This was a very difficult decision as I have has such an incredible time at OpenAI. I got to join right before ChatGPT and helped build the post-training team from scratch with John Schulman and…

— Barret Zoph (@barret_zoph) September 26, 2024

Altman said the departures were amicable. Mark Chen, who was previously vice president of research, has been promoted to senior vice president of research and will lead the research team alongside chief scientist Jakub Pachodzki. Matt Knight, former security officer, will become chief information security officer, and chief product officer Kevin Weil and vice president of engineering Srinivas Narayanan will report directly to Altman.

'I'm extremely grateful to all of you for your contributions,' Altman said of the three people who are retiring. He also said that the company will hold a company-wide meeting on September 27, 2024 (local time).