Mira Murati, Chief Technology Officer at OpenAI, Plans to Leave Company
Mira Murati, the chief technology officer at OpenAI, the influential artificial intelligence start-up, said on Wednesday that she would leave the company after working there for more than six years.In a memo she sent to employees and later shared on X, Ms.Murati said that she was stepping away to “create the time and space to do my own exploration,” though she did not elaborate on what those next steps would be.
“For now, my primary focus is doing everything in my power to ensure a smooth transition, maintaining the momentum we’ve built,” she said.Ms.Murati is the latest in a string of high-profile departures in a turbulent year for the company, which includes the surprise ouster and reinstatement five days later of Sam Altman, OpenAI’s co-founder and chief executive.Ms.
Murati was briefly appointed to lead the company during the power struggle, before rejecting the role just two days later.She has remained one of the public faces of the start-up, making frequent public appearances to discuss its technology.A spokesman for OpenAI did not comment.In a reply to Ms.
Murati on X, Mr.Altman thanked her for her years at the company and said he would provide more information on the leadership transition in the coming days.“It’s hard to overstate how much Mira has meant to OpenAI, our mission, and to us all personally,” he wrote.The turmoil at OpenAI has been closely watched by investors and competitors.
The start-up is currently in talks with Microsoft, Nvidia, Apple and others for a new round of investment that could raise the value of the company to as much as $150 billion, a huge leap from its last round at $80 billion.(The New York Times sued OpenAI and Microsoft in December for copyright infringement of news content related to A.I.systems.)In recent months, the company has added a number of seasoned executives, including new heads of product, a new chief financial officer and a head of global policy to handle relationships in Washington and acro...