Mira Murati’s Startup, Thinking Machines Lab, is Losing Two of its Co-Founders to OpenAI
Thinking Machines Lab loses co-founders Barret Zoph and Luke Metz as they return to OpenAI amid leadership reshuffle.
Matilda
Mira Murati’s Startup, Thinking Machines Lab, is Losing Two of its Co-Founders to OpenAI
Thinking Machines Lab Loses Co-Founders to OpenAI In a surprising leadership shake-up, Thinking Machines Lab—the AI startup founded by former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati—is losing two of its key co-founders, both of whom are returning to OpenAI. The departures of Barret Zoph and Luke Metz mark a significant shift for the well-funded startup just months after it raised $2 billion in seed funding. What’s behind this high-profile talent reversal, and what does it mean for the future of independent AI innovation? Credit: Getty Images Leadership Exodus Rocks Thinking Machines Lab On January 14, 2026, Mira Murati announced on X (formerly Twitter) that Barret Zoph, co-founder and former CTO of Thinking Machines Lab, had parted ways with the company. “We have parted ways with Barret,” Murati wrote, quickly adding that Soumith Chintala—longtime AI researcher and PyTorch co-creator—would step into the CTO role. She praised Chintala as “a brilliant and seasoned leader” whose decade-plus contributions to …
