tech
January 15, 2026
Mira Murati's startup, Thinking Machines Lab, is losing two of its co-founders to OpenAI
The abrupt change in personnel was in the works for several weeks, according to an OpenAI executive.
TL;DR
- Two co-founders of Mira Murati's startup, Thinking Machines Lab, have left the company.
- Barret Zoph, co-founder and CTO of Thinking Machines, and Luke Metz, co-founder, are returning to OpenAI.
- Sam Schoenholz, a former OpenAI staffer now at Thinking Machines, is also returning to OpenAI.
- Soumith Chintala has been named the new CTO of Thinking Machines Lab.
- Thinking Machines Lab, founded less than a year ago, had secured $2 billion in seed funding.
- The departure of co-founders is seen as a notable setback for the startup.