Among the most notable additions to her initiative is Jonathan Lachman, the former leader of special projects at OpenAI. His involvement underscores the ambitious nature of Murati’s project.
I shared the following note with the OpenAI team today. pic.twitter.com/nsZ4khI06P
— Mira Murati (@miramurati) September 25, 2024
Currently, the startup is in its infancy and has yet to announce a name or a clear product focus. Despite this, Murati is reportedly seeking over $100 million in funding to kickstart the venture, though this amount has not yet been finalized.
Murati departed from OpenAI in September 2024, nearly a year after stepping into the interim CEO role following the sudden dismissal of Sam Altman by the company’s board. During a tumultuous internal period, Altman was reinstated within a week, and Murati resumed her position as CTO before ultimately deciding to pursue her personal ambitions.
This development is part of a broader trend in the AI sector, where former OpenAI leaders are launching new ventures. For instance, Ilya Sutskever, co-founder and former chief scientist of OpenAI, recently established Safe Superintelligence, securing $1 billion in funding. Similarly, Anthropic, another major competitor in the space, was founded by ex-OpenAI employees and has raised billions of dollars, including $8 billion from Amazon.
These recent moves reflect a significant shift in the AI landscape, as former OpenAI members branch out to create new companies and attract substantial investments. Their efforts are poised to shape the next generation of AI technologies, marking an exciting period of innovation and competition in the industry.