Mira Murati’s artificial intelligence startup Thinking Machines Lab has lost three of its founding members, all of whom have now rejoined OpenAI, underscoring an intensifying talent war between major AI firms.
Murati announced on Wednesday that co-founder and Chief Technology Officer Barrett Zoph had exited the company. She said Soumith Chintala, an Indian technologist who had been serving as a member of the technical staff, has been elevated to the role of CTO.
“He is a brilliant and seasoned leader who has made important contributions to the AI field for over a decade,” Murati said in a post on X, adding that Chintala has been a major contributor to the team.
Zoph is the second co-founder to leave Thinking Machines Lab. In October, co-founder Andrew Tulloch exited the startup to join Meta. The company had earlier faced acquisition and poaching attempts from the social media giant.
Reports on social media claimed that Zoph was fired due to alleged unethical conduct, citing unnamed sources. These claims have not been confirmed by either Zoph or Thinking Machines Lab.
Later the same day, OpenAI CEO of Applications Fidji Simo announced that Zoph, along with Luke Metz and Sam Schoenholz, had returned to OpenAI. “This has been in the works for several weeks,” Simo said, adding that Zoph would report to her, while Metz and Schoenholz would report to Zoph.
All three were founding members of Thinking Machines Lab and had previously worked at OpenAI. The startup has around 50 employees and has yet to launch a product or prototype. The departure of multiple founders within a short period highlights the growing competition for senior AI talent in Silicon Valley.