Mira Murati's AI startup, Thinking Machines Lab (TML), founded in 2025 by former OpenAI leaders, fell apart last week. Key executives clashed with Murati over direction and control, leading to firings and mass exits to OpenAI. Nine staffers left or got offers, amid failed Meta buyout talks and fundraising struggles at a $50B goal.
Behind the scenes, Zoph had secretly negotiated with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman for months, with co-founders unhappy under Murati's leadership stemming from productivity concerns and personal issues like a workplace relationship. TML, boasting talent from OpenAI, Meta, and Mistral, struggled as Meta's buyout talks collapsed over valuation and vision differences.
OpenAI gains massively, with Zoph now leading enterprise AI sales to bridge research-product gaps, joined by researchers Luke Metz and Sam Schoenholz in a reorg under Applications CEO Fidji Simo. This talent repatriation bolsters OpenAI's edge in a cutthroat AI race, turning a rival's crisis into strategic dominance.
TML's future dims without core founders and staff, forcing Murati to rebuild amid ego clashes and Big Tech poaching in AI's high-stakes arena—where Meta lurks eternally. This churn underscores AI's brutal talent wars, reshaping startups overnight.
IN AI'S POWER GAMES, TALENT FLOWS TO THE INCUMBENTS!