The sudden resignation of OpenAI chief technology officer Mira Murati on Wednesday marks the end of an era for the AI front-runner, just as the contours of its next phase start to become clearer.
Murati’s departure, alongside two other senior staffers, comes as the company is preparing to announce a new structure that will see its for-profit arm no longer subservient to the board of its nonprofit foundation. The changes highlight the extent to which OpenAI has been radically transformed in the 10 months since company CEO Sam Altman was briefly ousted and then rehired in November 2023.
Murati informed Altman of her decision on Wednesday morning, before telling the world a few hours later. “There’s never an ideal time to step away from a place one cherishes, yet this moment feels right,” she said on X. “She wanted to do this while OpenAI was in an upswing,” said Altman in his own post.
