Key Points
- Three key executives at OpenAI resigned on Wednesday: CTO Mira Murati, VP of Research Barret Zoph, and Chief Research Officer Bob McGrew.
- The resignations come during OpenAI’s ongoing negotiation of a $6.5 billion funding round, which could value the company at $150 billion.
- OpenAI is restructuring to a for-profit benefit corporation, giving CEO Sam Altman an equity stake.
- Mira Murati is negotiating her exit but is still working at OpenAI. She has been with the company for six-and-a-half years and briefly served as CEO in November 2023.
On Wednesday, OpenAI, the San Francisco-based artificial intelligence company behind ChatGPT, saw the resignation of three of its top technical leaders: Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Mira Murati, VP of Research Barret Zoph, and Chief Research Officer Bob McGrew. The departures come at a critical time, as the company is negotiating a $6.5 billion funding round, which could value the Microsoft-backed firm at $150 billion.
The executive exits were announced through the social media platform X (formerly Twitter). It is the latest in a series of high-profile resignations from OpenAI, marking a transition period for the AI startup undergoing corporate restructuring. OpenAI plans to shift to a for-profit benefit corporation structure, giving CEO Sam Altman an equity stake. The unusual current setup, where a non-profit board controls the for-profit entity, led to tensions last November when the board ousted Altman over communication breakdowns. He was, however, reinstated after just five days.
The timing of these resignations raises questions about their potential impact on OpenAI’s ongoing fundraising efforts. The financing round has not yet closed, and it is uncertain whether the departures could influence investor decisions. Some investment agreements include a “material adverse change” clause, allowing investors to back out if significant events negatively affect the company’s future.
According to sources close to her, Mira Murati, who has been with OpenAI for six and a half years, is still in the process of negotiating her exit. Murati briefly took on the CEO role in November during Altman’s brief departure. She joined OpenAI as the VP of Applied AI and Partnerships in 2020 before being promoted to CTO in May 2022. Before her time at OpenAI, Murati worked at Tesla and the virtual and augmented reality startup Leap Motion.
As CTO, Murati was one of OpenAI’s public faces, often appearing alongside Altman during major product launches. In May, she led the presentation of OpenAI’s GPT-4 model, showcasing its ability to engage in realistic voice conversations. Her departure, along with that of Zoph and McGrew, leaves a noticeable gap in the company’s leadership as it continues to grow and navigate its restructuring and funding challenges.
