OpenAI executives are leaving as Sam Altman company tries to raise funds: Report

Mira Murati’s exit from OpenAI

Mira Murati joined the company in 2018 and had become OpenAI’s most prominent executive besides Sam Altman. She represented the company at product announcements and in media interviews. On X, she wrote, “I’m stepping away because I want to create the time and space to do my own exploration.”

Other exits from OpenAI

Sam Altman said that Chief Research Officer Bob McGrew and a vice president of research Barret Zoph were also leaving the company. They said that they all made their decisions to leave independently.

Sam Altman said, “Leadership changes are a natural part of companies, especially companies that grow so quickly and are so demanding. I obviously won’t pretend it’s natural for this one to be so abrupt, but we are not a normal company.”

Exodus of exits at OpenAI amid fundraising efforts

Several OpenAI researchers have quit over the past year alleging the company hadn’t taken its own commitments to AI safety seriously enough. The turnover of personnel comes at a crucial time as OpenAI is in the midst of securing more than $100 billion in new investment funding. At the same time, the company is planning to restructure itself from being controlled by a nonprofit board bound to a charter that states OpenAI will ensure advanced AI benefits all of humanity, into a for-profit benefit corporation.