OpenAI’s Chief Research Officer Resigns Following Murati’s Departure

OpenAI’s Chief Research Officer, Bob McGrew, and Vice President of Research, Barret Zoph, have resigned from the company, just hours after CTO Mira Murati announced her own departure. CEO Sam Altman disclosed the news on X (formerly Twitter) Wednesday evening, providing insight into the leadership transitions underway.

“Mira, Bob, and Barret made these decisions independently of each other and amicably,” Altman stated in his post. “But the timing of Mira’s decision was such that it made sense to now do this all at once, so that we can work together for a smooth handover to the next generation of leadership.”

Leadership Transitions at OpenAI

With the departure of McGrew and Zoph, OpenAI has announced several key promotions and changes in its leadership structure:

• Mark Chen has been promoted to Senior Vice President of Research, leading the research organization alongside Chief Scientist Jakub Pachocki.

• Matt Knight, previously head of security, will now serve as Chief Information Security Officer.

• Kevin Weil, Chief Product Officer, and Srinivas Narayanan, Vice President of Engineering, will continue to lead OpenAI’s applied team, focusing on bringing AI technology to enterprise and consumer markets.

• Josh Achiam, a research scientist, will take on the role of Head of Mission Alignment, working to ensure that OpenAI's goals and culture are aligned for future success.

Altman highlighted these changes in his post, stating that these leaders will report directly to him. He also noted a shift in his own focus, moving from non-technical responsibilities back to the technical and product aspects of the company.

Reflecting on the Changes

Altman sought to reassure staff and the broader community that these leadership changes, though abrupt, are part of the natural evolution of a fast-growing company. “Leadership changes are a natural part of companies,especially companies that grow so quickly and are so demanding,” he said. “I obviously won’t pretend it’s natural for this one to be so abrupt, but we are not a normal company, and I think the reasons Mira explained to me (there is never a good time, anything not abrupt would have leaked, and she wanted to do this while OpenAI was in an upswing) make sense.”

McGrew, who joined OpenAI in 2017 and rose through the ranks to become Chief Research Officer, said in his own post that it was “time for [him] to take a break.” He reflected on his time at OpenAI, describing it as a “humbling and awe-inspiring journey” and expressed confidence in the company’s leadership moving forward.

Barret Zoph, who led OpenAI’s post-training team responsible for refining AI models before deployment, also shared his thoughts on leaving, stating it was a “natural point” for him to explore new opportunities. Zoph joined OpenAI in 2022 and played a key role in improving the company’s models for products like ChatGPT and OpenAI’s API.

The Broader Context

The recent departures are part of a broader shake-up at OpenAI, which has seen several high-level executives leave in recent months. Andrej Karpathy, a prominent research scientist, departed in February. Ilya Sutskever, former Chief Scientist, and Jan Leike, ex-leader of the safety team, left in May, and co-founder John Schulman joined rival company Anthropic last month. Additionally, OpenAI President Greg Brockman is currently on extended leave through the end of the year.

These exits come at a time when OpenAI is reportedly transitioning from its nonprofit structure to a for-profit model. The company is pursuing a funding round that could value it at over $150 billion, with potential investments from Microsoft, Nvidia, Apple, and Thrive Capital. This shift, along with disagreements over the company’s direction, may have contributed to the recent departures.

Of the original 13 people who founded OpenAI in 2015, only three remain with the company today.

A Grueling Pace of Innovation

Altman acknowledged the intense demands placed on leaders at OpenAI, describing the experience as both a privilege and a relentless challenge. “It’s a privilege to … be the fastest-growing company that gets to put our advanced research in the hands of hundreds of millions of people,” he wrote. “But it’s relentless to lead a team through it — and they have gone above and beyond the call of duty for the company.”

As OpenAI navigates these leadership transitions and prepares for its next phase of growth, all eyes will be on the company’s upcoming all-hands meeting, scheduled for Thursday, where more details about the future direction and leadership plans are expected to be shared.