Mira Murati, who recently stepped down as Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at OpenAI after six years, is reportedly embarking on her own AI startup. She is in the early stages of fundraising, aiming to secure over $100 million from venture capitalists for developing AI products based on proprietary models.
While it remains uncertain whether Murati will take on the CEO role in her new venture, she is actively recruiting talent from OpenAI, including Barret Zoph, another prominent AI researcher who also resigned recently.
Murati joined OpenAI in June 2018 and was promoted to CTO in May 2022. Before her tenure at OpenAI, she gained experience at companies like Leap Motion and Tesla. As a prominent figure for OpenAI, she frequently appeared alongside CEO Sam Altman and even served as interim CEO when Altman was briefly removed by the company’s non-profit board.
At OpenAI, Murati was instrumental in major projects like ChatGPT and DALL-E and played a pivotal role in establishing the company’s partnership with Microsoft, enhancing her reputation as a leading figure in artificial intelligence.