OpenAI has just welcomed back two key employees from its competitor, Thinking Machines Lab, in a major coup for the AI firm. Barret Zoph and Luke Metz, co-founders of Thinking Machines Lab, have left their current roles at the startup to rejoin OpenAI.
The news comes after Zoph was fired from his position as CEO of Thinking Machines due to "unethical conduct", according to reports. However, a source close to the company claims that Zoph had shared confidential information with competitors, although this has not been verified by WIRED.
Zoph previously worked at OpenAI, where he served as vice president of post-training, leading teams that made final improvements to AI models before deployment. He left OpenAI in 2024 to co-found Thinking Machines Lab alongside Metz and Mira Murati, the former chief technology officer of ChatGPT maker.
Metz also has a history with OpenAI, having worked on the company's projects such as ChatGPT and the o1 AI reasoning model during his first stint. He is expected to report directly to Fidji Simo, CEO of applications at OpenAI, while Sam Schoenholz will work under him.
The move marks a significant win for OpenAI, which has recently lost its VP of research, Jerry Tworek. The personnel shake-up also comes after Andrew Tulloch, another co-founder of Thinking Machines Lab, left the company in November to take on a new role at Meta.
Thinking Machines Lab is one of several well-funded AI startups led by former top OpenAI researchers, reflecting the high demand among investors for AI-related ventures.
The news comes after Zoph was fired from his position as CEO of Thinking Machines due to "unethical conduct", according to reports. However, a source close to the company claims that Zoph had shared confidential information with competitors, although this has not been verified by WIRED.
Zoph previously worked at OpenAI, where he served as vice president of post-training, leading teams that made final improvements to AI models before deployment. He left OpenAI in 2024 to co-found Thinking Machines Lab alongside Metz and Mira Murati, the former chief technology officer of ChatGPT maker.
Metz also has a history with OpenAI, having worked on the company's projects such as ChatGPT and the o1 AI reasoning model during his first stint. He is expected to report directly to Fidji Simo, CEO of applications at OpenAI, while Sam Schoenholz will work under him.
The move marks a significant win for OpenAI, which has recently lost its VP of research, Jerry Tworek. The personnel shake-up also comes after Andrew Tulloch, another co-founder of Thinking Machines Lab, left the company in November to take on a new role at Meta.
Thinking Machines Lab is one of several well-funded AI startups led by former top OpenAI researchers, reflecting the high demand among investors for AI-related ventures.
just thinkin' about this move... if thinking machines lab co founders are joinin back openai its gotta mean something big is comin outta them labs 
they got some major talent and i'm sure they'll make some waves in the ai space 
also kinda curious how this affects chatgpt now that mira murati is joinin openai too... maybe we'll see some new features or improvements 
just a few months ago thinking machines lab was making waves with their o1 AI model & now they're basically being rebuilt... 
barret zoph's return to openai is HUGE 
this move is like a power play, especially after zoph was rumored to have shared confidential info with competitors 
on the other hand, it's nice to see luke metz getting another shot at openai 
what does this mean for tm lab & thinking machines' future? 
since 2020, the global AI market has grown by 45% from $15.8 billion to $22.9 billion in 2022 
what did zoph do again? shared confidential info with competitors? sounds like a major breach to me 
anyway i think it's cool that he and luke metz are back, hopefully they can bring some of their skills to the table since openai has been kinda quiet lately 
So OpenAI just poached their ex-boss and now they're basically trying to recreate their own failed product... just saying. Think about it, they lost a VP of research and now they get to add two co-founders from another AI startup. It's like they're playing a game of "AI musical chairs" 
. Anyway, it's clear that OpenAI is on a roll 
, especially with these two talented folks joining the team! Fingers crossed for some major AI breakthroughs 
. This move also makes me wonder what else is cooking in the AI world... 
.