Mira Murati, OpenAI’s Chief Technology Officer, announced on Wednesday via a post on X (formerly Twitter) that she is departing from the company after more than six years to pursue new opportunities.
Why Did Mira Murati Quit Open AI?
In her message, Murati shared, “After deep reflection, I’ve made the tough decision to leave OpenAI. While there’s never a perfect time to step away from a place I hold dear, now feels right. My six-and-a-half years with OpenAI have been an incredible experience.”
An OpenAI spokesperson declined to provide additional comments and referred inquiries to Murati’s post.
I shared the following note with the OpenAI team today. pic.twitter.com/nsZ4khI06P
— Mira Murati (@miramurati) September 25, 2024
OpenAI, originally founded as a non-profit research organization before establishing a for-profit arm, is reportedly exploring a possible restructuring that could yield higher returns for its investors.
According to sources like Bloomberg, the company is in discussions about a potential funding round that could raise its valuation to $150 billion.
Murati’s departure follows the exits of other key figures from OpenAI. In May, co-founder and chief scientist Ilya Sutskever left to start a new venture focused on AI safety, while another co-founder, John Schulman, departed in August to join rival AI firm Anthropic. Additionally, OpenAI’s president and co-founder Greg Brockman is currently on an extended leave.
Murati joined OpenAI’s leadership team in 2018, after working at Tesla and Ultraleap (formerly Leap Motion). She played a pivotal role in OpenAI’s rise to prominence, particularly following the public release of ChatGPT in 2022, which sparked a surge of interest in AI within the tech industry.
Notably, during a brief leadership shake-up last November, Murati was temporarily appointed as interim CEO when Sam Altman was ousted. She and over 500 employees threatened to resign unless Altman was reinstated, which ultimately led to his return as CEO.
Open AI’s CEO Responds After Murati Quits Company
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman responded to Murati’s X post with one of his own, saying, “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 gratitude towards her for the support and love during all the hard times. I am excited for what she’ll do next,” Altman said, adding that the company would say more about the leadership transition plan soon.
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