Mira Murati’s AI Startup Makes First Hires, Including Former OpenAI Executive
Jan 17, 2025 - wired.com
Jonathan Lachman, former head of special projects at OpenAI, has joined a new AI research lab founded by ex-OpenAI executive Mira Murati. Murati left OpenAI in September last year to pursue the development of artificial general intelligence and has since recruited around 10 researchers and engineers from companies like OpenAI, Character AI, and Google DeepMind. Her startup is still in its nascent stages, lacking a name and a defined product direction. Murati's departure from OpenAI came after a brief stint as interim CEO following Sam Altman's temporary dismissal by the board in late 2023. Despite the leadership turmoil, Altman was reinstated as CEO after significant employee pushback, and he and Murati continued to collaborate until her departure.
Murati's exit was part of a broader exodus from OpenAI, with other key figures like Barret Zoph, Bob McGrew, and Ilya Sutskever also leaving. Sutskever went on to establish Safe Superintelligence, an AI safety-focused startup that quickly secured $1 billion in funding. Murati, meanwhile, is reportedly seeking over $100 million to fund her new venture. This trend of former OpenAI executives founding new AI companies is exemplified by Anthropic, which has raised substantial funding, including $8 billion from Amazon.
Key takeaways:
Jonathan Lachman, former head of special projects at OpenAI, joined a new AI research lab founded by ex-OpenAI executive Mira Murati.
Mira Murati's new venture is focused on artificial general intelligence and has recruited around 10 researchers and engineers from competitors.
Murati briefly served as interim CEO of OpenAI during a leadership crisis after Sam Altman's firing, before leaving to start her own company.
Several former OpenAI executives, including Ilya Sutskever, have founded their own AI startups, with Sutskever's Safe Superintelligence raising $1 billion.
