At 3:30 this morning, OpenAI's Chief Technology Officer Mira Murati announced her departure from OpenAI.

Mira briefly served as interim CEO following Sam Altman’s ouster last year and played a key role in his return to OpenAI.

Now Mira has also left, together with Greg Brockman who is on a long vacation and Ilya Sutskever, the chief scientist who resigned, only Sam Altman is left of the former "Four Heavenly Kings" of OpenAI.

The following is a translation of Mira’s resignation letter.

Hello everyone,

I want to share something with you. After careful consideration, I have made the difficult decision to leave OpenAI.

My six and a half years on the OpenAI team have been an extraordinary privilege. Over the next few days I will express my gratitude to many people, but I want to start by thanking Sam and Greg for their trust in me to lead the technical organization and for their support over the years.

There’s never an ideal time to leave a place you hold dear, but this moment feels right. Our recent releases of speech-to-speech and OpenAI O1 mark the beginning of a new era of interaction and intelligence—made possible by your ingenuity and craftsmanship. We’re not just building smarter models, we’re fundamentally changing how AI systems learn and reason about complex problems. We’re bringing safety research from the realm of theory to real-world applications, creating models that are more robust, consistent, and controllable than ever before.

Our work makes cutting-edge AI research intuitive and accessible, developing technology that adapts and evolves based on everyone’s input. This success is a testament to our exceptional teamwork, and it is because of your intelligence, dedication, and commitment that OpenAI stands at the pinnacle of AI innovation.

I am leaving because I want to create the time and space to pursue my own exploration. My priority right now is to do everything I can to ensure a smooth transition and maintain the momentum we have built.

I will be forever grateful for the opportunity to build and work with this remarkable team. Together, we have pushed the boundaries of scientific understanding to improve the well-being of humanity. While I may no longer be fighting alongside you, I will still be rooting for all of you.

I am so grateful for the friendships formed, the victories achieved, and most importantly, the challenges overcome together.

Mira

English original

Hi all, I have something to share with you. After much reflection, I have made the difficult decision to leave OpenAl. My six-and-a-half years with the OpenAl team have been an extraordinary privilege. While I'l express my gratitude to many individuals in the coming days, I want to start by thanking Sam and Greg for their trust in me to lead the technical organization and for their support throughout the years.

There's never an ideal time to step away from a place one cherishes, yet this moment feels right. Our recent releases of speech-to-speech and OpenAl o1 mark the beginning of a new era in interaction and intelligence - achievements made possible by your ingenuity and craftsmanship. We didn't merely build smarter models, we fundamentally changed how Al systems learn and reason through complex problems.

We brought safety research from the theoretical realm into practical applications, creating models that are more robust, aligned, and steerable than ever before. Our work has made cutting-edge Al research intuitive and accessible, developing technology that adapts and evolves based on everyone's input. This success is a testament to our outstanding teamwork, and it is because of your briliance, your dedication, and your commitment that OpenAl stands at the pinnacle of Al innovation. I'm stepping away because I want to create the time and space to do my own exploration.

For now, my primary focus is doing everything in my power to ensure a smooth transition, maintaining the momentum we've built. I will forever be grateful for the opportunity to build and work alongside this remarkable team. Together, we've pushed the boundaries of scientific understanding in our quest to improve human well-being. While I may no longer be in the trenches with you, I will stil be rooting for you all. With deep gratitude for the friendships forged, the triumphs achieved, and most importantly, the challenges overcome together.

Mira was born in Albania in 1988 and moved to Canada at the age of 16. She graduated from the Thayer School of Engineering with a degree in mechanical engineering in 2012. While in school, she interned at Goldman Sachs and French aerospace group ZODIAC.

In 2013, Mira joined Musk's Tesla and worked there for three years. During this time, she served as a senior product manager for the SUV Model X and led the development of the famous assisted driving software Autopilot, which laid the foundation for her future development of interactive AI products.

In 2016, Mira joined Leap Motion, a startup that makes hand- and finger-tracking motion sensors for PCs, as vice president of product and engineering.

In 2018, Mira joined OpenAI as Vice President of AI Applications and Partnerships. In May 2022, she was promoted to Chief Technology Officer, during which she led the development of ChatGPT, DALL-E, Codex, and GPT-4 signature products.

After ChatGPT was officially released, it took only two months for the number of monthly active users to exceed 100 million, making it the fastest growing consumer application in history.

Ilya Sutskever, co-founder and chief scientist of OpenAI, officially announced his resignation on May 15 this year.

In November 2023, Ilya participated in the campaign to remove Sam Altman and was considered by the outside world to be the biggest behind-the-scenes mastermind. The main reason was that Ilya believed that Sam's style of work was too radical, which would cause AI to get out of control and bring more harm than benefits, so he removed Sam and others through the voting rights of the board of directors.