Mira Murati presents an OpenAI competitor called Thinking Machines Lab.
Former OpenAI employees are starting a new competing company.
Mira Murati, former CTO of OpenAI, has been in the spotlight following her surprising departure from the company last fall. After a period of silence, she is now ready to reveal some details about her new project. Her artificial intelligence startup is called Thinking Machines Lab, where she aims to make AI systems more understandable, customizable, and capable overall. While the company's specific plans have yet to be made public, the company has expressed its commitment to transparency, promising regular publication of technical research and code.
In a statement, Thinking Machines Lab explains that its focus is on developing products that help people work with artificial intelligence, rather than creating fully autonomous systems. In her words, she is building a future where everyone has access to the knowledge and tools necessary for artificial intelligence to function according to their specific needs and goals.
Murati is also assembling a standout team for her startup. Recently, she has hired John Schulman, co-founder of OpenAI, as head of research, and Barrett Zoph, another former leader from OpenAI, as CTO. Reports indicate that Schulman has been active in building the team, holding meetings with researchers near OpenAI's headquarters. Additionally, Jonathan Lachman, who led the special projects division at OpenAI, has joined Murati in this new venture. In total, she has recruited around 10 prominent researchers and engineers from prestigious AI labs, including OpenAI, Character.AI, and Google DeepMind.
