tech
April 17, 2026
Kevin Weil and Bill Peebles exit OpenAI as company continues to shed 'side quests'
Kevin Weil and Bill Peebles are leaving OpenAI as the company shuts down Sora and folds its science team, signaling a sharp pivot away from consumer moonshots toward enterprise AI.
TL;DR
- Kevin Weil, who led OpenAI's science research, and Bill Peebles, a researcher behind the AI video tool Sora, are leaving OpenAI.
- These departures follow OpenAI's decision to reduce investment in "side quests" such as Sora and OpenAI for Science.
- Sora, an AI video tool, was reportedly shut down last month due to significant daily compute costs.
- OpenAI for Science, focused on accelerating scientific discovery with tools like Prism, is being merged into other research teams.
- Weil's team recently released GPT-Rosalind, a model for life sciences research, shortly before his departure.
- Peebles highlighted Sora's impact on industry investment in video and emphasized the need for research autonomy to foster innovation.
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