In a shock move on Wednesday, OpenAI Chief Technology Officer Mira Murati announced that she is stepping down after 6.5 years with the company. Writing on X, she spoke of her wish to “create the time and space to do my own exploration.” She joins Chief Research Officer Bob McGrew and VP of Post Training Barret Zoph, who are also departing.
It has been a dramatic 18 months at the tech giant. In November last year, Murati was temporarily promoted to CEO after Sam Altman was ousted by the board – only to be reinstated just a few days later. Then, in May, Chief Scientist Ilya Sutskever left in acrimonious circumstances, citing fears over the company’s approach to safeguarding AI misuse.
With this latest news, anxieties around the AI space – which has been been dubbed “chaotic” and the “Wild West” – will continue to swirl.
AI Figurehead Announces Shock Departure
OpenAI CTO, and briefly, CEO, Mira Murati is leaving the company, it has been announced. In a surprise memo issued to staff on Wednesday, and later posted on X, she expressed her eagerness to “create the time and space to do my own exploration.”
Said CEO Sam Altman, in response: “I feel tremendous gratitude towards her for what she has helped us build and accomplish.” Of the “abrupt” nature of the departure, he moved to quash potential negative rumors, claiming “leadership changes are a natural part of companies.” She joins CRO Bob McGrew and VP of Post Training Barret Zoph in departing the company at a time when it seeks funding to take its valuation north of $100 billion.
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Given that it seemingly came from nowhere, the news will no doubt confound outside observers. Murati has been one of the recognizable figureheads of OpenAI for years, with numerous media appearances – and no shortage of controversy – under her belt.
Murati Weathers Storm of Outrage
Just three months ago, Murati found herself at the center of hot debate after appearing to stoke fears around generative AI and its perceived threat to the creative industry. During an address at Dartmouth College, the CTO claimed: “Some creative jobs maybe will go away, but maybe they shouldn’t have been there in the first place.”
The remarks came off the back of a lawsuit brought against OpenAI by a group of eight newspapers – The New York Daily News, Chicago Tribune, Denver Post, Mercury News, Denver Post, Orange County Register, St Paul Pioneer-Press, Orlando Sentinel, and South Florida Sun Sentinel – in April this year.
Elsewhere, she has proved indispensable to the startup since joining as a researcher in 2018, championing the possibilities of AI even in the face of mounting criticism. During her tenure, she has overseen the launches of ChatGPT, Dall-E, Codex, and Sora, and even briefly took over as CEO after Sam Altman was fired by the board. He was reinstated five days later.
AI “Wild West” Shows No Signs of Abating
Reflecting on the “abrupt” nature of Murati’s announcement, Altman acknowledged that OpenAI is “not a normal company.” Certainly, it has undergone a chaotic period, with a litany of high-profile departures and controversies in recent months.
In May, for instance, Chief Scientist Ilya Sutskever resigned over concerns about safeguarding misuse. He was joined by former Safety Lead Jan Leike, while Co-Founder John Schulman left for rivals Anthropic in August. Sutskever has since launched a rival startup with $1 billion in investment.
Nevertheless, OpenAI is closing in on funding that would take its valuation to a dizzying $100 billion. While seemingly mired in scandal and intrigue at every turn, there would appear to be some method in the madness, with the numbers painting a pretty compelling picture. For the time being at least, OpenAI is staying competitive in the AI race.
