Leaders at Mira Murati’s Thinking Machines Lab confronted cofounder Barret Zoph over a relationship with another employee last summer. According to WIRED, that relationship was likely the alleged misconduct mentioned in earlier reports. The employee involved worked in a different department and held a leadership role. That person no longer works at the lab.
Breakdown Between Cofounders
Murati spoke with Zoph about the relationship, sources told WIRED. The working relationship between the cofounders fell apart in the months after that conversation. Multiple sources said Zoph began talking to competitors about other jobs.
Before leaving the company, Zoph had conversations with leaders from Meta Superintelligence Labs. He was ultimately hired by OpenAI. Fidji Simo, OpenAI’s CEO of applications, said the hiring had been in the works for weeks. She also said she did not share Thinking Machines‘ concerns over Zoph’s ethics. Both Zoph and OpenAI declined to comment.
Wider Departures From Startup
This week, a third Thinking Machines cofounder, Luke Metz, left for OpenAI. At least three other researchers from Murati’s startup also departed for the same company. In October, cofounder Andrew Tulloch left for Meta.
Strategic Differences and Funding
The tensions between Murati and Zoph do not fully explain why so many Thinking Machines employees left. WIRED previously reported that the startup faced internal disagreement about what to build.
In November, Murati’s startup was reportedly looking to raise capital at a $50 billion valuation. That figure represented a major jump from its current valuation of $12 billion. Thinking Machines Lab declined to comment on the departures or the relationship incident.
