On February 18, Thinking Machines Lab, an AI startup founded by former OpenAI Chief Technology Officer Mira Murati, announced in a blog post that it has recruited around 30 prominent researchers and engineers from competitors like OpenAI, Meta, and Mistral.
The team, with approximately two-thirds comprised of former OpenAI staff, includes renowned researcher Barret Zoph, who departed from the ChatGPT maker on the same day as Murati in late September and will now serve as the startup's technology chief.
John Schulman, co-founder of OpenAI, has taken on the role of chief scientist at the startup after leaving OpenAI for rival Anthropic in August, expressing his desire to concentrate on AI alignment.
AI alignment involves incorporating human values into AI models to enhance their safety and reliability, a core objective for Murati's startup.
Murati, alongside other former OpenAI executives, has initiated startups such as Anthropic and Safe Superintelligence, with Reuters reporting in October that she is securing investments from venture capitalists for her new AI venture.
The startup emphasized its focus on developing AI capable of adapting to various human expertise levels to broaden its applications, stating, "While current systems excel at programming and mathematics, we're building AI that can adapt to the full spectrum of human expertise."
Additionally, the company announced plans to facilitate external research on AI alignment by sharing code, datasets, and model specifications.
Having joined OpenAI in June 2018, Murati often appeared publicly with CEO Sam Altman as the face of the ChatGPT maker. Her sudden departure underscored another significant exit from the company amid substantial governance restructuring.
Before her tenure at OpenAI, Murati worked at augmented reality startup Leap Motion and Tesla.