Former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati launches AI startup Thinking Machines Lab

FORMER OpenAI chief technology officer Mira Murati has launched an AI startup, Thinking Machines Lab, bringing together a team of about 30 researchers and engineers from OpenAI, Meta, and Mistral.

The startup aims to develop AI systems that incorporate human values and have a broader range of applications than existing models, the company said in a blog post on Tuesday.

Murati, a longtime executive at OpenAI, has recruited a significant number of former colleagues. About two-thirds of the team consists of ex-OpenAI employees, including Barret Zoph, who left the company on the same day as Murati in late September. Zoph will be the technology chief at Thinking Machines Lab.

John Schulman, a co-founder of OpenAI, has joined as the startup’s chief scientist. Schulman left OpenAI for Anthropic in August, saying he wanted to focus on AI alignment.

AI alignment refers to embedding human values into AI models to improve safety and reliability—one of the key goals of Murati’s new company.

More OpenAI employees are expected to join Thinking Machines Lab, sources told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity. The company has also been in talks to secure venture capital funding, according to a previous Reuters report.

Murati, who will serve as CEO, joins a growing list of former OpenAI executives launching AI startups. Other ventures, such as Anthropic and Safe Superintelligence, have also attracted ex-OpenAI researchers and raised significant funding.

Thinking Machines Lab said its approach differs from competitors due to close collaboration between its research and product teams. The company plans to contribute to AI alignment research by sharing code, datasets, and model specifications.

"While current systems excel at programming and mathematics, we're building AI that can adapt to the full spectrum of human expertise and enable a broader spectrum of applications," the company said.

Murati joined OpenAI in June 2018, leading the development of ChatGPT and frequently representing the company alongside CEO Sam Altman. She resigned abruptly amid governance changes at OpenAI.

Before OpenAI, she worked at Tesla and augmented reality startup Leap Motion.

(With inputs from Reuters)