Mira Murati’s startup, Thinking Machines Lab, is losing two of its co-founders to OpenAI

Former OpenAI Executives Return to Company After Brief Stint at Thinking Machines Lab

Former OpenAI executive Mira Murati’s startup, Thinking Machines Lab, is experiencing some changes as two of its co-founders are heading back to OpenAI. The departures include Barret Zoph, the company’s co-founder and CTO, who will be replaced by Soumith Chintala as the new CTO of Thinking Machines Lab. Chintala is recognized as a seasoned leader in the AI field, making significant contributions over the past decade.

Despite the announcement of Zoph’s departure, there was no mention of co-founder Luke Metz or any other departures from the company. Shortly after the news broke, Fidji Simo, OpenAI’s CEO of applications, confirmed that Zoph, Metz, and Sam Schoenholz are returning to OpenAI after a brief stint at Thinking Machines Lab.

Metz, a co-founder of Thinking Machines Lab, previously worked for OpenAI on the company’s technical staff, as did Schoenholz. Zoph, who previously held the position of VP of research at OpenAI and also worked at Google as a research scientist, co-founded Thinking Machines Lab with Murati and Metz.

Thinking Machines Lab, led by Murati as CEO, secured significant financial backing, closing a $2 billion seed round with notable investors like Andreessen Horowitz, Accel, Nvidia, AMD, and Jane Street. The company’s valuation reached $12 billion following the funding round.

While talent movement between AI companies is common in Silicon Valley, the departure of co-founders less than a year after founding a startup is unusual. Losing two co-founders simultaneously, especially one in the role of CTO, may present challenges for Thinking Machines Lab, known for its high-profile team of former OpenAI, Meta, and Mistral AI researchers.

Notably, the company has also seen other key personnel depart, including co-founder Andrew Tulloch, who joined Meta in October. OpenAI itself has witnessed several co-founders leave to pursue other ventures, such as John Schulman, who initially left for Anthropic before joining Thinking Machines Lab as Chief Scientist.