October 20, 2024 – According to sources familiar with the matter, as reported by Reuters on October 19th (Beijing time), Mira Murati, the former Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of OpenAI, is currently raising funds from venture capitalists for her new artificial intelligence (AI) startup.
Murati’s new venture aims to develop AI products based on proprietary models, although it remains unclear whether she will take on the role of CEO. While the funding negotiations are still in their early stages, her new company is likely to raise over $100 million, given Murati’s reputation in the industry and the capital required to train proprietary models. However, the final funding amount has not been determined.
Additionally, Barret Zoph, a former prominent researcher at OpenAI, may also be involved in Murati’s new startup. He resigned from OpenAI on the same day as Murati in late September. Previous reports by technology website The Information suggested that Zoph was planning to establish a new company, while Murati had been recruiting employees from OpenAI to join her.
Murati’s LinkedIn profile indicates that she joined OpenAI in June 2018 and was promoted to CTO in May 2022. Prior to OpenAI, she worked at Tesla and augmented reality startup Leap Motion. During her six-year tenure at OpenAI, Murati led the development of transformative projects such as ChatGPT and DALL-E. She was also a key figure in securing a multibillion-dollar funding partnership between OpenAI and Microsoft, the latter being OpenAI’s largest investor. Murati’s rapid rise at OpenAI solidified her status as one of the most prominent executives in the emerging AI field.
She frequently appeared in public with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, serving as a spokesperson for the AI startup. In May this year, Murati hosted the launch event when OpenAI introduced the GPT-4o model capable of realistic voice conversations.
However, Murati’s sudden resignation in late September marked the latest high-profile departure from OpenAI. At that time, the company was undergoing significant governance restructuring, including the elimination of control by its non-profit board. Murati, who briefly served as interim CEO last year after Altman’s ouster by the board, attributed her departure to a desire for personal exploration. She joins a growing list of former OpenAI executives who have left to found new companies, including Anthropic and Safe Superintelligence.
Representatives for Murati declined to comment, while Zoph did not respond to requests for comment.
