In Silicon Valley, Mira Murati's new company, Thinking Machines Lab, is attracting significant investor attention. According to Business Insider, the less-than-a-year-old startup is raising $1 billion in funding, with a projected valuation of a staggering $9 billion (approximately ¥65.357 billion CNY). This valuation is exceptionally high for a startup, particularly in the fiercely competitive artificial intelligence (AI) industry.
Murati spent six and a half years at OpenAI, overseeing the development of several AI projects, including ChatGPT. Following boardroom turmoil in November 2023, she briefly served as interim CEO before returning to her role as CTO. However, her OpenAI journey didn't end there. Murati's departure sparked considerable discussion, and the launch of her new company, Thinking Machines Lab, last week marked a new chapter.
In her blog, Murati clearly stated that Thinking Machines Lab aims to be a laboratory for AI research and products, dedicated to advancing the accessibility and development of artificial intelligence. She emphasized a desire to make AI systems more understandable, customizable, and versatile. To achieve this goal, Murati has recruited top engineers and AI researchers from companies like OpenAI, Meta, and Anthropic, including ChatGPT co-founder John Schulman and several other experts involved in ChatGPT's development.
Murati isn't the only former OpenAI executive launching their own company. For example, former chief scientist Ilya Sutskever founded Safe Superintelligence after leaving in May 2024. Furthermore, Dario Amodei and Daniela Amodei founded Anthropic back in 2021. These developments highlight the continued significant influence of former OpenAI executives in the AI field.
Murati's Thinking Machines Lab is not only promising in terms of valuation but also has the potential to play a crucial role in the future development of AI.
