New York — In a significant development for the artificial intelligence sector, Mira Murati, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of OpenAI, has announced her decision to leave the company after six and a half years of pioneering contributions. Murati, who played a key role in shaping the development of ChatGPT and Dall-E, shared the news on Wednesday in a message posted to X, formerly known as Twitter. “My six-and-a-half years with the OpenAI team have been an extraordinary privilege. There’s never an ideal time to step away from a place one cherishes, yet this moment feels right,” she wrote.
Murati’s departure signals a broader shift in leadership at OpenAI, a company that has been at the forefront of artificial intelligence innovation. Her decision to step down follows a series of high-profile exits from the company’s leadership team, raising questions about the future trajectory of one of Silicon Valley’s most influential organizations. OpenAI, originally conceived as a non-profit dedicated to safe AI development, has since expanded into a commercial powerhouse with a for-profit arm, attracting substantial investment and a growing array of ethical and operational challenges.
OpenAI is reportedly in discussions for a new fundraising round that could see the company valued at $150 billion, a staggering figure that reflects the increasing demand for AI technologies. The company’s rapid growth, fueled by advancements in machine learning and natural language processing, has sparked both excitement and concern within the tech industry. OpenAI’s foray into commercial AI products has not been without controversy, as it navigates the delicate balance between profit generation and ethical considerations surrounding AI’s societal impact.
Murati’s departure follows in the footsteps of several other key executives. Earlier this year, OpenAI’s co-founder and chief scientist Ilya Sutskever left to launch a new company focused on AI safety. John Schulman, another OpenAI co-founder, departed in August to join rival AI firm Anthropic. Adding to the leadership shake-up, OpenAI’s president Greg Brockman has been on extended leave, further highlighting the ongoing shifts within the company’s upper echelons.
Murati joined OpenAI’s leadership team in 2018, following a successful career at Tesla, where she worked on key projects in advanced manufacturing, and Ultraleap (formerly Leap Motion), an augmented reality company. Her tenure at OpenAI was marked by groundbreaking achievements, most notably her leadership during the development of ChatGPT, the widely popular chatbot that has revolutionized natural language processing. Since its public release in 2022, ChatGPT has become a global phenomenon, spurring an AI arms race among tech giants and startups alike.
Murati’s impact extended far beyond her technical contributions. In November of last year, she briefly took on the role of interim CEO during a turbulent period for the company. When OpenAI’s board abruptly removed CEO Sam Altman, Murati was one of over 500 employees who threatened to resign unless Altman was reinstated. Her actions underscored her deep commitment to the company and its mission, and she was widely credited with helping to restore stability during the crisis.
Most recently, Murati led the development of two major AI advancements: the release of GPT-4o, which brought spoken conversation capabilities to ChatGPT, and OpenAI o1, a model designed to tackle complex scientific and mathematical problems. Reflecting on these breakthroughs, Murati wrote in her farewell note, “Our recent releases of speech-to-speech and OpenAI o1 mark the beginning of a new era of interaction and intelligence. We didn’t merely build smarter models; we fundamentally changed how AI systems learn and reason through complex problems.”
Although Murati has decided to step away from her role at OpenAI, she indicated that she will remain active in the AI space, focusing on new explorations and initiatives. She also expressed her commitment to assisting with the leadership transition. OpenAI has yet to announce her formal replacement or provide further details on the timeline for the transition.
Responding to Murati’s announcement, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman expressed both personal and professional gratitude: “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.”
Altman’s message reflects the profound influence Murati had on OpenAI’s trajectory and the strong relationships she fostered within the company. As OpenAI prepares for its next phase of growth and leadership transition, Murati’s departure marks the end of an era, one defined by her tireless dedication to advancing AI technology while grappling with its ethical complexities. The broader implications of her exit will undoubtedly be felt as OpenAI continues to scale its operations and face mounting competition from both established tech giants and emerging AI startups. As the company pursues its mission to develop safe and beneficial AI, Murati’s contributions will remain an integral part of its legacy.
