Particle.news
Download on the App Store
15 ARTICLES
·
4w ago

OpenAI Rehiring Jolts Thinking Machines as New Details Emerge on CTO’s Ouster

WIRED reports an office relationship preceded Barret Zoph’s firing, deepening a dispute over the reasons for his exit.

Image
Image
Image
Former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati. Her new AI startup, Thinking Machines Lab, currently valued at $12 billion, has suffered a wave of staff defections in the past week, with a clutch of key employees returning to OpenAI.

Overview

  • CEO Mira Murati said the company parted ways with cofounder and CTO Barret Zoph and named PyTorch co-creator Soumith Chintala as CTO.
  • Roughly 58 minutes after Murati’s post, OpenAI’s Fidji Simo announced that Zoph, cofounder Luke Metz, and researcher Sam Schoenholz were rejoining OpenAI.
  • WIRED reports Thinking Machines leaders confronted Zoph last summer over an alleged office relationship they viewed as serious misconduct, while OpenAI says the hires were planned and it does not share those ethics concerns.
  • Sources close to Thinking Machines also alleged Zoph shared confidential information with competitors, a claim WIRED has not verified and that OpenAI disputed internally.
  • Multiple reports say additional Thinking Machines staff have resigned or are in talks to follow, intensifying pressure on a startup valued at $12 billion after a $2 billion seed and already down another cofounder to Meta.