Thinking Machines Lab Sees Key Co-Founders Return to OpenAI
Mira Murati, the former OpenAI CTO, is facing a significant talent shift at her startup, Thinking Machines Lab, as two of its co-founders are heading back to OpenAI. Another former OpenAI staffer who joined Murati’s venture is also making the return journey.
Leadership Shake-Up at Thinking Machines
On Wednesday, Murati took to social media to announce the departure of Barret Zoph, the startup’s co-founder and CTO. “We have parted ways with Barret,” Murati wrote on X. She also shared that Soumith Chintala will take over as CTO:
“He is a brilliant and seasoned leader who has made important contributions to the AI field for over a decade, and he’s been a major contributor to our team. We could not be more excited to have him take on this new responsibility.”
Notably, Murati’s post made no mention of other team members leaving.
OpenAI Welcomes Back Familiar Faces
Less than an hour after Murati’s announcement, Fidji Simo, OpenAI’s CEO of applications, confirmed that Zoph would be returning to the company. “Excited to welcome Barret Zoph, Luke Metz, and Sam Schoenholz back to OpenAI! This has been in the works for several weeks, and we’re thrilled to have them join the team,” Simo shared on X.
Both Luke Metz and Sam Schoenholz previously worked at OpenAI before joining Thinking Machines. Metz is a co-founder of Murati’s startup, while Schoenholz’s LinkedIn profile still lists him as working for the company.
Impressive Track Records
Zoph has a notable background, having served as VP of Research at OpenAI and spent six years as a research scientist at Google. Murati herself led OpenAI as CTO until September 2024 before leaving to co-found Thinking Machines alongside Zoph and Metz.
Since its launch, Thinking Machines has attracted significant investment, raising $2 billion in a seed round last July. The round was led by Andreessen Horowitz, with participation from Accel, Nvidia, AMD, and Jane Street, valuing the startup at $12 billion.
Industry Reaction and Implications
TechCrunch has reached out to both Thinking Machines and OpenAI for comment, while Wired reports that the split between Zoph and Thinking Machines may not have been amicable. Murati’s brief public statement on his departure could reflect underlying tensions.
Talent mobility is common in Silicon Valley’s AI scene, but losing two co-founders less than a year after launching is especially striking. One of the departing co-founders served as CTO, making this a notable challenge for Thinking Machines, which had previously built a team featuring researchers from OpenAI, Meta, and Mistral AI.
The startup has also seen other departures, including co-founder Andrew Tulloch, who joined Meta in October. OpenAI itself has experienced similar moves, such as John Schulman leaving for Anthropic in August 2024 before joining Thinking Machines as Chief Scientist at its February 2025 launch.
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