By Anna Tong and Krystal Hu
Mira Murati, former chief technology officer at OpenAI, is raising money from venture capital firms for her new AI startup, according to people familiar with the matter.
The new company aims to create AI products based on proprietary models, said one of the sources who requested anonymity to discuss private matters. It is unclear whether Murati will take on the role of CEO of the new company.
A representative for Murati declined to comment.
Although negotiations are in their early stages, Murati’s new venture could raise more than $100 million given its reputation and the capital needed to train exclusive models, one of the sources said, warning that the figures have not been finalized.
Barret Zoph, a prominent researcher who left OpenAI on the same day as Murati in late September, could also become involved in the new venture, the sources added. Zoph did not respond to requests for comment.
The Information previously reported that Zoph was considering a new startup and that Murati was recruiting OpenAI employees to join his new company.
Murati at OpenAI spent over six years leading transformation projects such as ChatGPT and DALL-E. She was a key figure in OpenAI’s multibillion-dollar partnership with Microsoft, its largest backer.
Murati’s meteoric rise at OpenAI has cemented his name as one of the most prominent leaders in the nascent field of artificial intelligence.
Murati joined OpenAI in June 2018 and was promoted to CTO in May 2022, according to her LinkedIn profile. Before OpenAI, she worked for augmented reality startup Leap Motion and Tesla.
She has frequently appeared alongside OpenAI CEO Sam Altman as the public face of the creator of ChatGPT. When OpenAI launched its GPT-4o model in May, capable of having realistic voice conversations, Murati led the presentation.
His abrupt resignation in late September marked the ChatGPT creator’s latest high-profile exit as the company undergoes major changes to its governance structure, including removing control of the nonprofit’s board of directors. Murati, who briefly served as interim CEO last year when Altman was ousted by the nonprofit’s board, cited his desire for personal exploration for his departure.
Murati joins a growing list of former OpenAI executives launching startups, including rivals such as Anthropic and Safe Superintelligence.
(Reporting by Anna Tong in San Francisco and Krystal Hu in New York; editing by Kenneth Li and Bill Berkrot)