Thinking Machines Lab Announces Leadership Changes as Key Founders Return to OpenAI

Thinking Machines Lab, the AI startup founded by former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati, has confirmed a series of senior leadership changes as multiple co-founders depart to rejoin OpenAI. Murati announced that Barret Zoph, co-founder and chief technology officer, has left the company, with longtime AI researcher Soumith Chintala appointed as the new CTO. Shortly afterward, OpenAI confirmed that Zoph, along with Luke Metz and Sam Schoenholz, has returned to the company.

Zoph previously served as OpenAI’s vice president of research, while Metz and Schoenholz were also former OpenAI technical staff. Murati co-founded Thinking Machines Lab after leaving OpenAI in 2024, and the company raised a $2 billion seed round last year led by Andreessen Horowitz, valuing it at $12 billion. The leadership transition marks a significant moment for the high-profile AI research startup as it continues to build its technical team.

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