Former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati Expands Thinking Machines Lab With Key AI Talent

Mira Murati, former Chief Technology Officer at OpenAI, has quietly expanded her new venture Thinking Machines Lab by bringing on Bob McGrew and Alec Radford — two prominent figures from OpenAI’s early AI breakthroughs — as advisers.

McGrew, who served as OpenAI’s chief research officer until 2024, and Radford, the lead author behind the original GPT paper, now support Murati’s mission to build more customizable and understandable AI systems. Their names appeared on the Thinking Machines Lab website in March.

Murati, who now leads the company as CEO, is joined by John Schulman as chief scientist and Barret Zoph as CTO. The startup remains tight-lipped about specifics but promises AI built for individual goals.