Thinking Machines Lab cofounders Barret Zoph and Luke Metz are set to leave the AI lab to rejoin OpenAI, as confirmed in a memo from OpenAI’s CEO, Fidji Simo. This departure comes amidst growing concerns within Thinking Machines regarding Zoph’s conduct. Reports suggest he was fired for allegedly sharing confidential information with competitors, a claim Zoph has not publicly addressed.
Simo’s memo indicated that Zoph had informed Thinking Machines CEO Mira Murati about his intention to leave prior to his firing. It is noted that OpenAI does not share the same apprehensions that Thinking Machines has regarding Zoph. Additionally, Sam Schoenholz, another staff member from Thinking Machines, will also be returning to OpenAI.
The departures signal a challenge for Thinking Machines, especially following Andrew Tulloch’s exit to Meta in November, further depleting its leadership. In light of Zoph’s exit, Murati announced that Soumith Chintala would be taking over as the chief technology officer of the startup.
Zoph and Metz made the move to Thinking Machines in late 2024, following their tenure at OpenAI where Zoph was vice president of post-training, contributing to product improvements for models like ChatGPT. Simo confirmed that Zoph would directly report to her, while Metz and Schoenholz are expected to work under him, with details of their roles still being formalized.
Thinking Machines, which was valued at $12 billion previously and recently in talks to raise more than $4 billion at a higher valuation, continues to operate amidst a competitive AI landscape. The startup’s flagship product, Tinker, empowers developers to customize AI models with their datasets.
