Sam Altman · OpenAI · Apple · Mira Murati · The Verge
Zoph originally departed OpenAI in the fall of 2024 for Murati’s Thinking Machines Lab
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Thinking Machines Lab has its own tensions with OpenAI.
Key facts
- Zoph originally left OpenAI in the fall of 2024 for Murati’s Thinking Machines Lab, but departed the role abruptly in January 2026 after reports of alleged misconduct involving an undisclosed
- In September 2024, when Murati left OpenAI to start Thinking Machines Lab, a group of OpenAI employees followed shortly
- Murati briefly took over as CEO from OpenAI CEO Sam Altman during his November 2023 ouster, and during the recent OpenAI trial, Murati testified that she couldn’t trust everything Altman said
- Zoph returned to OpenAI in mid-January after a stint as co-founder and CTO of Thinking Machines Lab, the competing AI company founded by former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati
Summary
He rejoined the company in January after a stint as co-founder of Mira Murati’s competitor, Thinking Machines Lab. Five months after returning to OpenAI, Barret Zoph, the company’s head of enterprise AI sales, has departed, The Verge has learned. Zoph returned to OpenAI in mid-January after a stint as co-founder and CTO of Thinking Machines Lab, the competing AI company founded by former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati. OpenAI confirmed to The Verge that Zoph will be departing. Zoph originally left OpenAI in the fall of 2024 for Murati’s Thinking Machines Lab, but departed the role abruptly in January 2026 after reports of alleged misconduct involving an undisclosed relationship with a colleague.