Former OpenAI executive Mira Murati’s venture, Thinking Machines Lab, is experiencing a major leadership change as two of its co-founders, Barret Zoph and Luke Metz, return to OpenAI. In a social media update, Murati confirmed Zoph’s departure from his role as co-founder and CTO, stating that Soumith Chintala will step in as the new CTO. “We have parted ways with Barret,” Murati announced on X, emphasizing Chintala’s extensive experience and contributions to the AI sector over the past decade.
Just under an hour later, OpenAI CEO of Applications Fidji Simo welcomed Zoph, Metz, and fellow former employee Sam Schoenholz back to the company. “Excited to welcome Barret Zoph, Luke Metz, and Sam Schoenholz back to OpenAI! This has been in the works for several weeks, and we’re thrilled to have them join the team,” Simo wrote in his own post on X.
Zoph’s background includes a role as VP of Research at OpenAI and six years as a research scientist at Google. Meanwhile, Metz brings years of technical expertise from his prior tenure at OpenAI. Alongside them, Schoenholz was also involved with Thinking Machines as recently as noted in his LinkedIn profile.
Thinking Machines Lab, co-founded by Murati after her departure from OpenAI in September 2024, has gained considerable backing, raising $2 billion in a seed round last July, led by Andreessen Horowitz, with contributions from other tech giants like Nvidia and AMD. The company is currently valued at $12 billion.
Talent shifts between AI giants are not uncommon in Silicon Valley; however, the simultaneous exit of high-profile co-founders from a startup within its first year could represent a significant challenge for Thinking Machines. This recent turnover, particularly the loss of a CTO, may hinder the startup’s initial momentum, especially given its collection of distinguished researchers from major tech firms.
Additionally, Thinking Machines has seen further personnel changes, including co-founder Andrew Tulloch departing for Meta. OpenAI itself has witnessed similar trends, with many of its founding members opting to start or join rival initiatives, including John Schulman, who transitioned to Anthropic and later took on the role of Chief Scientist at Thinking Machines Lab earlier this year.
