In the early hours of today, OpenAI's Chief Technology Officer, Mira Murati, officially announced a significant development: she has decided to leave OpenAI.
OpenAI CTO Announces Departure
Mira had been with the company for six and a half years, during which she faced numerous challenges, including briefly serving as interim CEO after Sam Altman's dismissal. In her resignation letter, Mira expressed her gratitude for her past work, particularly thanking Sam and Greg for their trust in allowing her to lead the technical team. She noted that leaving a cherished place is never an easy decision, but she feels it's time to explore new possibilities.
Mira mentioned that OpenAI's recent release of speech-to-speech conversion technology and OpenAI O1 marks the beginning of a new era of interaction and intelligence, with these achievements being the result of team collaboration. She highlighted that the team not only built smarter models but also fundamentally changed the way AI systems learn and reason about complex problems. She takes pride in the team's success and emphasized their efforts in safety research, bringing the field from theory into practical application.
Her main task before leaving is to ensure a smooth transition for the team and maintain the current momentum of work. Although she will no longer be fighting alongside everyone, she will continue to cheer for them and express her gratitude for the friendships and challenges overcome together.
Chief Research Officer and Research Vice President Also Depart
The high-level changes at OpenAI are not ending here.
In addition to the announcement of OpenAI's Chief Technology Officer Mira Murati's departure, OpenAI's Chief Research Officer Bob McGrew and Research Vice President Barret Zoph have also announced their resignations.
Company CEO Sam Altman shared this news on social media and discussed the upcoming leadership transition plan.
Altman stated in his post that the departures of Mira, Bob, and Barret were independent and amicable decisions. He emphasized that the timing of Mira's departure was perfect, so all changes were announced at the same time to ensure a smooth leadership transition.
In the new personnel arrangement, current Research Vice President Mark Chen will be promoted to Senior Vice President of OpenAI, leading the company's research department, and will co-lead as Chief Scientist with Jakub Pachocki. Previously responsible for security, Matt Knight will also serve as the company's Chief Information Security Officer, while Chief Product Officer Kevin Weil and Engineering Vice President Srinivas Narayanan will continue to lead OpenAI's application team, responsible for applying the company's technology to enterprises and consumers.
Additionally, Research Scientist Josh Achiam will take on the role of Mission Alignment Lead, with Altman stating that he will focus on ensuring the company's mission is smoothly advanced at all levels and in its culture.
Altman attempted to reassure employees and the public, stating that leadership changes are a natural part of the company's rapid development. He acknowledged that these changes are sudden but emphasized that OpenAI is not an ordinary company, hence the unusual nature of the changes.
McGrew simply stated on social media that it was time for a break. He expressed humility and awe at the eight-year journey with OpenAI, which has grown from a small non-profit organization to one of the world's most important research and deployment companies. He expressed confidence in OpenAI's leadership.
Zoph mentioned in his resignation statement that this was a natural time to explore new opportunities. The team he led was primarily responsible for training and improving OpenAI's models to ensure their smooth deployment in products like ChatGPT.
The day after the personnel changes, OpenAI will hold a company-wide meeting to further explain the company's future direction.
Key Points:
🌟 OpenAI CTO Mira Murati announces resignation.
📈 Mark Chen is promoted to the new Senior Vice President, responsible for the company's research department, ensuring a smooth leadership transition.
🤔 OpenAI Chief Research Officer Bob McGrew and Research Vice President Barret Zoph resign,