Mira Murati, former CTO of OpenAI, is making waves once again as she embarks on a new venture in the AI space. Following her departure from OpenAI last month, Murati is now raising venture capital for her own AI startup, with reports suggesting she could secure over $100 million in this funding round. Her new company will focus on developing AI products based on proprietary models, a significant shift as she moves from her influential role at OpenAI to her own independent exploration of AI technologies.
Murati’s departure was part of a broader reshuffling at OpenAI, which saw other key executives like Bob McGrew, the Chief Research Officer, and Barret Zoph, VP of Research, leave shortly afterward. Despite these exits, OpenAI remains a formidable player, recently raising a record $6.6 billion, and continuing its restructuring efforts as it transitions to a for-profit benefit corporation.
Murati, who played a critical role in the development of flagship AI products like ChatGPT and DALL-E, expressed her desire to explore new opportunities beyond OpenAI, sharing that she needed time and space to pursue her own ventures. Her deep expertise, combined with her reputation in the AI community, makes her startup one to watch as it aims to attract top talent and carve its own space in the competitive AI landscape.
This trend of ex-OpenAI leaders founding their own startups reflects a growing movement, with former colleagues like Ilya Sutskever and Andrej Karpathy also launching their own ventures. Murati’s startup is poised to become another strong competitor in the ever-evolving AI industry.
