Summary:
Mira Murati hires ex-OpenAI executive Jonathan Lachman for her new AI startup.
Startup focuses on artificial general intelligence, with 10 hires from top competitors.
Murati's departure from OpenAI came amid a leadership crisis after Sam Altman's firing.
She aims to raise over $100 million for her venture, which is still unnamed.
Former OpenAI engineers continue to launch successful startups, raising significant funds.
Major Hires for Mira Murati's AI Venture
Mira Murati, the former CTO of OpenAI, has made a significant move by hiring Jonathan Lachman, the previous head of special projects at OpenAI, to join her new artificial intelligence research lab. This marks Murati's most high-profile hire since her departure from OpenAI in September last year to embark on this exciting venture focused on artificial general intelligence.
Murati's startup has already attracted around 10 researchers and engineers from top competitors such as OpenAI, Character AI, and Google DeepMind. Although the startup is still in its nascent stages, lacking a name or defined product direction, it is gaining momentum rapidly.
Background Context
Murati's exit from OpenAI came less than a year after the abrupt firing of CEO Sam Altman by the board of directors in late 2023. During the ensuing chaos, Murati briefly stepped in as interim CEO, which Altman described as a “low point” in the leadership crisis that engulfed OpenAI. After a wave of discontent among OpenAI employees, Altman was reinstated as CEO just a week later.
Despite the turmoil, Altman and Murati maintained a strong working relationship. In her farewell message to OpenAI, she expressed her desire to create time for her own explorations. A month later, reports surfaced that Murati was seeking to raise over $100 million to fund her new company, although that figure was not confirmed.
Departures from OpenAI
Murati was not the only one to leave OpenAI around this time. Other notable exits included Barret Zoph and Bob McGrew, both of whom also departed shortly after Murati. Co-founder Ilya Sutskever later founded Safe Superintelligence, focusing on AI safety, and raised $1 billion within three months of its inception. Additionally, Anthropic, another competitor, was founded by ex-OpenAI executives and has secured significant funding, including $8 billion from Amazon.
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