CTO Mira Murati, Among Other Executives, Leaves Openai While Sam Altman Prepares for a 7% Equity Stake

Mira Murati, OpenAI’s Chief Technology Officer, has announced her decision to step down from the company. In a post shared on X, she explained her departure, stating that she wanted to make space for personal exploration while focusing on ensuring a smooth leadership transition.

Murati’s exit comes alongside two other high-profile departures—Bob McGrew, the Chief Research Officer, and Barret Zoph, Vice President of Post-Training. OpenAI’s CEO, Sam Altman, clarified that these decisions were made independently and amicably, as he addressed employees in a memo shared on X. He acknowledged the timing of Murati’s decision but expressed understanding, stating that it made sense for the company to handle all the transitions simultaneously.

Murati’s decision to leave follows nearly a year after a boardroom dispute temporarily removed Altman from his position, during which Murati briefly stepped in as the company’s interim leader. During her six-year tenure, she was instrumental in the launch of some of OpenAI’s most innovative products, including ChatGPT and the text-to-image generator. Altman, in his message to employees, praised her contributions to the company’s rapid evolution.

Altman acknowledged the intensity of leadership roles at OpenAI, describing them as both a privilege and a relentless challenge, given the company’s accelerated growth and mission to advance artificial general intelligence (AGI). He also confirmed that Mark, the newly appointed Senior Vice President of Research, will assume leadership of the research organization, while Josh Achiam will take on the role of Head of Mission Alignment to ensure the company stays true to its core objectives.

Murati’s departure comes at a pivotal time for OpenAI, just ahead of its annual Dev Day conference. The company is riding high after securing billions in new funding and restructuring itself as a for-profit entity, a move that also gives Altman a 7% equity stake.

In her farewell memo to staff, Murati expressed deep gratitude for her time at OpenAI, crediting the team for pushing the boundaries of artificial intelligence research. She highlighted recent innovations in AI, particularly the release of speech-to-speech models and OpenAI’s o1 model, which represent significant advancements in AI’s ability to reason and interact with the world.

Altman’s memo echoed these sentiments, recognizing the contributions of all three departing leaders and outlining a clear path forward for the company. He reassured staff that the company’s leadership succession plan, while accelerated, is well-prepared, with key figures already in place to guide OpenAI into its next phase.

A gathering for staff was scheduled for later that evening to celebrate the contributions of Murati, McGrew, and Zoph, with a company-wide all-hands meeting to follow the next day for further discussions.

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