ChatGPT maker OpenAI CEO Sam Altman (right) and Chief Technology Officer Mira Murati (above) (File) | Photo by AP
OpenAI’s chief technology officer Mira Murati, chief research officer Bob McGrew and vice president of research (post-training) Barrett Zoff are leaving the ChatGPT maker, CEO Sam Altman confirmed on X, sharing a lengthy memo about the departures and the company’s future.
Altman acknowledged the hard work of the departing employees, but focused specifically on Murati’s contributions and his reasons for leaving.
“Management changes are a natural part of any company, especially one that is fast growing and demanding. I’m not saying the suddenness of these personnel changes is natural, but we’re not a normal company, and I think the reasons Mira explained to me (there’s no good time, we needed to do this suddenly or else information would leak, we wanted to do this at a time when OpenAI was going strong) make sense,” Altman said in a lengthy memo about X.
Murati called his six and a half years at OpenAI a “unique privilege” and said he looks forward to exploring his own horizons.
Altman noted that the three employees made the decision “independently and amicably.”
He also outlined how the company’s leadership will be changing, saying that he will now spend the majority of his time on the technology and product side of the company.
Meanwhile, McGrew and Zoff also praised the OpenAI team in announcing their departures.
Chief Research Officer Bob McGrew and Vice President of Research Barrett Zoff also announced their departure from OpenAI | Photo credit: X
The Microsoft-backed company has seen a string of top-level executive departures from OpenAI, including co-founder Greg Brockman, who announced in early August that he was taking a year-long sabbatical.
OpenAI has previously been criticized for having restrictive severance clauses that prevent former employees from criticizing the company.
The news of his departure came at the same time that Reuters, citing anonymous sources, reported that OpenAI would transition to a for-profit company in which Altman might take a stake.
However, an OpenAI spokesman said the non-profit is “core” to the company’s mission and will continue to exist, according to Reuters.
I posted this note to OpenAI:
Hello everyone –
Mira has contributed greatly to the progress and growth of OpenAI over the past six and a half years. She has played a critical role in our evolution from an obscure research lab into a significant company.
When Mila let me know this morning…
— Sam Altman (@sama) September 26, 2024
Published – 26 September 2024 9:43 AM IST
