Mira Murati’s AI startup, Thinking Machines Lab, is experiencing a significant leadership shakeup as two of its co-founders are leaving to rejoin OpenAI. Barret Zoph, the company’s co-founder and former CTO, has departed, with Murati announcing the news on X. “We have parted ways with Barret,” she wrote, adding that Soumith Chintala, a veteran AI researcher with deep experience in the field, will take over as the new CTO. Chintala, who has contributed to major advancements in AI, is described by Murati as a “brilliant and seasoned leader” and a key team member. Just 58 minutes after Murati’s post, Fidji Simo, OpenAI’s CEO of applications, confirmed that Zoph, along with co-founder Luke Metz and Sam Schoenholz, would be returning to OpenAI. “Excited to welcome Barret Zoph, Luke Metz, and Sam Schoenholz back to OpenAI! This has been in the works for several weeks, and we’re thrilled to have them join the team,” Simo wrote. Zoph previously served as VP of Research at OpenAI and spent six years at Google as a research scientist. Metz, another co-founder of Thinking Machines, had a long tenure at OpenAI before joining Murati’s venture. Schoenholz, whose LinkedIn still lists him as affiliated with Thinking Machines, also worked at OpenAI and was part of the company’s technical team. Murati, who served as CTO at OpenAI until September 2024, co-founded Thinking Machines Lab with Zoph and Metz. The startup, which she leads as CEO, raised a $2 billion seed round in July 2023, led by Andreessen Horowitz and backed by investors including Accel, Nvidia, AMD, and Jane Street. At the time, the round valued the company at $12 billion. The departure of two co-founders less than a year after the company’s founding is a major development, especially given the high-profile nature of the team. The startup had assembled a group of former OpenAI, Meta, and Mistral AI researchers, aiming to build cutting-edge AI systems. However, it has already seen other key exits, including co-founder Andrew Tulloch, who left in October to join Meta. The split appears to have been less than harmonious. According to Wired, the departure of Zoph from Thinking Machines was not amicable, a sentiment underscored by Murati’s limited public commentary on his exit. While talent movement between top AI firms is common in Silicon Valley, the loss of two co-founders—particularly the CTO—raises questions about the startup’s stability and long-term direction. Meanwhile, OpenAI continues to see key figures leave for competing ventures. John Schulman, a co-founder of OpenAI, left for Anthropic in August 2024 before joining Thinking Machines as Chief Scientist in February of the same year. His recent departure from the startup adds another layer to the shifting dynamics in the AI industry’s leadership landscape.