Mira Murati, the former chief technology officer of OpenAI, announced the launch of her AI startup, Thinking Machines Lab, on Tuesday. The new venture is backed by a team of approximately 30 distinguished researchers and engineers, many of whom have transitioned from competitors such as OpenAI, Meta, and Mistral.
This latest addition to the competitive AI startup landscape aims to develop artificial intelligence systems that incorporate human values and target a wider range of applications compared to its competitors, as stated in a blog post released on Tuesday.
Murati's ability to attract top talent from her previous organization highlights her influence in the field. Notably, around two-thirds of the team consists of former OpenAI staff, including Barret Zoph, a leading researcher who departed from OpenAI on the same day as Murati in late September. Zoph will take on the role of technology chief at the startup.
John Schulman, a co-founder of OpenAI, has been appointed as the chief scientist of the new company. Schulman left OpenAI for the rival firm Anthropic in August, expressing a desire to concentrate on AI alignment.
AI alignment involves the process of embedding human values into AI models to enhance their safety and reliability, which is a primary focus for Murati's new venture.
Sources have indicated to Reuters that more former OpenAI employees are likely to join the startup, although they requested anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the discussions.
The company is reportedly in negotiations to secure venture capital funding from investors, as previously reported by Reuters.
Murati, who will serve as the CEO of Thinking Machines Lab, is part of a growing trend of former OpenAI executives establishing their own AI startups. Other notable examples include Anthropic and Safe Superintelligence, both of which have successfully attracted former OpenAI researchers and secured substantial funding.
Thinking Machines Lab claims its unique approach sets it apart from competitors by fostering collaboration between research and product teams. The company also intends to advance research in AI alignment by making its code, datasets, and model specifications publicly available.
"While current systems excel at programming and mathematics, we're building AI that can adapt to the full spectrum of human expertise and enable a broader spectrum of applications," the startup said.
Murati became part of OpenAI in June 2018, where she spearheaded the development of ChatGPT and often represented the organization alongside CEO Sam Altman in public engagements.
Her sudden departure was part of a series of notable exits from the company amid changes to its governance structure.
Before her tenure at OpenAI, she was employed at the augmented reality company Leap Motion and at Tesla.