New York — Mira Murati, the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of OpenAI and one of the pivotal architects behind the company’s most revolutionary AI products like ChatGPT and Dall-E, has officially announced her departure from the organization. After six and a half transformative years at OpenAI, Murati shared the news on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday, stating, “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.”
Murati’s departure comes at a crucial juncture for OpenAI, which has risen to prominence as a leading force in artificial intelligence (AI) technology. Her leadership and technical expertise have been instrumental in developing and launching advanced AI models that have reshaped industries and consumer experiences worldwide. As OpenAI navigates this period of unprecedented growth, her exit leaves a significant void in the company’s leadership.
Founded in 2015 with the mission of ensuring artificial general intelligence (AGI) benefits all of humanity, OpenAI has since evolved into a more commercially-oriented organization, creating its for-profit arm in 2019 to raise capital and support its expanding research and development efforts. This transition, while enabling OpenAI to scale its operations and develop cutting-edge technologies, has sparked debates about the balance between profit motives and the company’s original mission of ethical AI development.
Reports suggest that OpenAI is currently in the midst of a new fundraising round that could value the company at $150 billion, underscoring the increasing demand for AI-powered solutions across various sectors. As OpenAI seeks to secure additional capital, the departure of key figures like Murati raises questions about the company’s long-term strategy and leadership direction.
Murati joined OpenAI in 2018, following a career at Tesla, where she contributed to the development of advanced manufacturing systems, and Ultraleap (formerly Leap Motion), an augmented reality company. At OpenAI, her role as CTO was critical in overseeing the development of transformative technologies like ChatGPT, which launched in 2022 and became a global phenomenon almost overnight. The release of ChatGPT set off a race among tech giants like Google, Microsoft, and Anthropic, as companies scrambled to develop similar AI tools capable of transforming industries ranging from content creation to customer service.
Beyond her technical contributions, Murati’s leadership came to the forefront during a significant crisis at OpenAI in November last year, when CEO Sam Altman was temporarily removed by the board. Murati, who stepped in as interim CEO during the leadership vacuum, was one of the key figures who advocated for Altman’s return, joining more than 500 employees in expressing their support. This moment highlighted Murati’s deep connection to the company and her role in stabilizing it during times of uncertainty.
In recent months, Murati led several major AI advancements, including the launch of GPT-4o, which brought sophisticated spoken conversation capabilities to ChatGPT, and OpenAI o1, a breakthrough AI model designed to solve complex scientific and mathematical challenges. Reflecting on these innovations in her farewell message, Murati said, “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.”
Her departure follows a series of high-profile exits from OpenAI’s leadership team, including chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, who left to start a new AI safety company, and co-founder John Schulman, who joined rival AI startup Anthropic. OpenAI’s president, Greg Brockman, has also been on extended leave, further complicating the company’s leadership transition.
In her farewell note, Murati expressed her intention to stay active in the AI field, hinting at future explorations and ventures without providing specific details. She also indicated her willingness to assist with OpenAI’s leadership transition, although the company has yet to announce who will succeed her as CTO or provide a detailed timeline for her departure.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman responded to Murati’s announcement with a heartfelt message of gratitude, 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.”
Altman also hinted at forthcoming updates regarding the company’s leadership restructuring but has not yet revealed specific details about the transition plan.
Murati’s departure marks a pivotal moment for OpenAI as it continues to scale its operations, attract new investment, and maintain its position as a global leader in AI technology. Her contributions, particularly in driving the development of ChatGPT and other groundbreaking AI models, have been fundamental to OpenAI’s success and its impact on the tech industry at large. As OpenAI looks to the future, the company faces the dual challenge of continuing its rapid technological advancements while addressing the ethical considerations of AI’s growing influence on society. Murati’s legacy at OpenAI will undoubtedly remain significant, as her work has shaped the direction of AI development and set the stage for the company’s ongoing growth and innovation.
