Another big leadership shake-up at ChatGPT maker OpenAI: CTO Mira Murati and two top execs announce departure

Three major leaders at OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, announced their departures on Wednesday, during a period of change and expansion for the AI firm. Chief Technology Officer Mira Murati, VP of Research Barret Zoph, and Chief Research Officer Bob McGrew revealed their plans to leave in posts on X (formerly Twitter).

OpenAI is currently navigating a significant $6.5 billion funding round, which could raise the company’s valuation to $150 billion. This financing is linked to changes in the company’s structure, which includes transitioning into a for-profit benefit corporation and offering CEO Sam Altman an equity stake. Previously, OpenAI had an unusual corporate setup, where a non-profit board controlled its for-profit operations.

Though the funding round is not yet finalised, the exit of these executives raises questions about whether it could affect investor confidence. According to a report by Reuters, some deals contain clauses that allow investors to withdraw if there’s a significant negative impact on the company, but it’s not clear whether this situation will trigger such concerns.

Mira Murati, who has been with OpenAI for six and a half years, is still in discussions regarding her departure. She joined the company as VP of Applied AI and Partnerships in December 2020, before being promoted to CTO in May 2022. Murati had a highly visible role, often appearing alongside Altman to represent OpenAI publicly. She was particularly involved in the launch of GPT-4 in May 2023, which introduced AI models capable of more realistic voice conversations.

In her post on X, Murati explained that she’s stepping down to focus on personal exploration. The report suggests, she is still working at OpenAI while she negotiates her exit. Murati briefly served as OpenAI's CEO in November 2023 during a leadership transition.

The departure of Murati, Zoph, and McGrew follows other notable leadership changes at OpenAI this year. Co-founder John Schulman left in August to join rival AI firm Anthropic, while Greg Brockman, another co-founder, announced a sabbatical. Chief Scientist Ilya Sutskever also departed earlier in May.

Following the news of these exits, Sam Altman, OpenAI’s CEO, announced internal promotions, including Matt Knight as Chief Information Security Officer and Mark Chen as Senior VP of Research. Altman mentioned that Murati had not informed him in advance of her decision, but she explained that she wanted to leave during a positive period for the company.