On Wednesday, OpenAI CTO Mira Murati announced her departure from the company on X, a decision that coincides with OpenAI’s reported shift from a non-profit board structure to a for-profit corporation. Her sudden resignation, along with those of AI researchers Bob McGrew and Barret Zoph, has raised eyebrows across the industry.
Murati, who spent over six years at OpenAI, shared her thoughts, saying, “After much reflection, I have made the difficult decision to leave OpenAI … I want to create the time and space to do my own exploration.“
What surprised many was that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was unaware of Murati’s departure beforehand. After reacting to the news, Altman expressed on X, “When Mira informed me this morning that she was leaving, I was saddened but of course support her decision.”
Murati’s resignation was so unexpected that Altman said to OpenAI staff, “I obviously won’t pretend it’s natural for this one to be so abrupt, but we are not a normal company…” However, Murati’s exit is part of a larger wave of recent resignations at OpenAI. So, what’s driving this sudden turnover? Let’s take a closer look at the timeline of these departures.
Exodus of Top Executives at OpenAI
Since the failed coup at OpenAI last year where the non-profit board, led by Ilya Sutskever, attempted to remove Sam Altman the company has experienced a string of high-profile exits. The first major departure came in May 2024, when OpenAI co-founder and former chief scientist Ilya Sutskever left to launch his own venture, Safe Superintelligence Inc.
Shortly after, Jan Leike, a key researcher in OpenAI’s superalignment team, resigned, citing safety concerns. Then in August 2024, OpenAI President and co-founder Greg Brockman announced he would take an extended leave through the end of the year. Another founding member, John Schulman, departed to join rival AI lab Anthropic.
Now, in September, Mira Murati long regarded as a trusted confidante of CEO Sam Altman has also left the company unexpectedly. With her departure, nearly all of OpenAI’s founding members have exited, leaving only Sam Altman and Wojciech Zaremba still at the helm.
Is OpenAI’s profit-driven ambition fueling chaos?
Following Mira Murati’s departure, Reuters reported that OpenAI is in the process of restructuring, aiming to shift control away from the non-profit board. While the nonprofit board will still exist, it will hold only a minority stake, with governance increasingly driven by profit-focused investors. Under this new structure, CEO Sam Altman could potentially receive equity valued at $150 billion.
Recently, OpenAI appointed former NSA chief Paul Nakasone to its board, a move that raised concerns in the tech and privacy communities. The retired Army General was also added to OpenAI’s Safety and Security Committee, and critics have pointed out that his background in cybersecurity and intelligence could signal a shift in the company’s mission.
At the heart of the matter is the governance of OpenAI. As one of the leading AI labs developing technologies that could have a global impact, control over OpenAI is highly sought after by investors and governments alike. This struggle highlights the tension between commercial interests and ethical considerations.
With the shift towards a for-profit structure and the departure of nearly all its founding members, questions about OpenAI’s governance and mission loom large. Will the company continue to serve the greater good of humanity, or will it be swayed by commercial interests? Only time will tell.
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