Vetted by NeuralPress's Multi-Agent Verifier for strict factual validity and event relevance. Our compliance engine cross-checks and filters search results to ensure zero false correlations or misleading content.
Thinking Machines Lab Staffing Dynamics
Comparison of founding team size versus current total headcount
Primary Sources
'My concern with Sam was…': Mira Murati testifies against Sam Altman ...
Mira Murati testifies against Sam Altman in the Elon Musk vs Sam Altman lawsuit. Here's what she stated. Updated: May 7, 2026 18:40 IST Murati’s testimony emerged in the second week of Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI. The testimony between Elon Musk and Sam Altman has created a storm that could either end in Musk being embarrassed or Sam Altman being legally forced to leave OpenAI. As part of the proceedings, Thinking Machines Labs CEO Mira Murati has shared her take on the events around the firing of Altman in 2023. In her videotaped statement, Murati accused Altman of dishonesty and harbouring a workplace environment that could undermine effective leadership. Murati, who briefly served as OpenAI’s interim CEO and was previously the CTO leading up to the release of ChatGPT, claimed in her testimony that Altman frequently told different things to different people, creating “chaos” that hampered her ability to perform her role. In the video deposition played in federal court in Oakland, California, she stated, “My concern was about Sam saying one thing to one person and completely the opposite to another person.” When directly asked if she believed Altman was always candid with her, Murati replied, “Not always,” adding that her issues with him centred on management style. Murati’s testimony emerged in the second week of Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI, which accuses Altman and President Greg Brockman of betraying the company’s original nonprofit mission by prioritising commercial interests. Musk is seeking substantial damages as part of the lawsuit, reportedly asking for up to $180 billion, along with orders to revert OpenAI to nonprofit status and remove Altman from the board. “My issues with Sam were very much around management,” she added. ALSO READ OpenAI has denied the claims, asserting Musk previously supported its shift toward a for-profit model. Murati describes the Altman-firing drama In November 2023, the OpenAI board fired Altman from his post as CEO and christened Murati as an interim CEO. Murati described the intense chaos following Altman’s temporary firing, stating that the company faced a “catastrophic risk of falling apart,” and she feared it could “completely blow up.” Despite her criticisms, Murati testified that she supported efforts to reinstate Altman, criticising the board for not following a trustworthy process in his dismissal. “As we can see in retrospect, the way [board members] handled it caused complete and utter chaos,” sh...
Mira Murati's AI dream team got their stock options. Now many are out.
Mira Murati's AI dream team got their stock options. Now many are out. By Charles Rollet You're currently following this author! Want to unfollow? Unsubscribe via the link in your email. Thinking Machines Lab CEO Mira Murati and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Getty Images 2026-05-13T09:00:01.278Z Thinking Machines Lab has lost a third of its founding team to rivals amid fierce AI talent wars. Meta, OpenAI, and xAI lured the founders of Thinking Machines Lab with huge compensation offers. CEO Mira Murati's startup has also hired top talent and recently unveiled a new type of AI model. Thinking Machines Lab has raised billions in capital while assembling one of AI's most elite technical teams. Now it's watching some of that talent walk out the door. As Big Tech rivals dangle eye-popping pay packages and early employees unlock their first slice of equity, the buzzy, 1-year-old startup has become ground zero for tech's escalating talent wars.Nearly a third of its 42-person founding team — 13 people — have left since its launch, a Business Insider review of LinkedIn profiles and conversations with four sources found. Those departures include three of its six co-founders.Thinking Machines Lab's head count has more than quadrupled to over 150 people since it launched, a person familiar with the matter told Business Insider.The departures have been driven by a mix of factors, though a major one is the huge packages offered by rival AI labs like Meta and OpenAI, as well as the passage of an important milestone in startup compensation: the one-year cliff, four sources familiar with the matter said. It's not unheard of for early members of a startup to jump ship over time, though Thinking Machines Lab was supposed to be different. It emerged from stealth last year as one of the highest-profile AI labs thanks to its leadership's deep ties to OpenAI. CEO Mira Murati previously served as OpenAI's chief technical officer, while other key figures helped train the early versions of ChatGPT.Investors eager to back the next breakout AI company flocked to the startup, which raised $2 billion before launching a product.The startup's reputation as a talent hub has put a target on its back.Thinking Machines Lab declined to comment.An opportunity they couldn't refuseSome of the offers to founding members have reached well into nine figures — hundreds of millions of dollars in cash and stock over several years — according to one defector who shared notes with peers."I got an ...
Mira Murati's deposition pulled back the curtain on Sam Altman's ouster
The week leading up to Thanksgiving 2023 was the AI industry's biggest soap opera moment. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was abruptly ousted from his role at the ChatGPT maker. The explanation? That Altman was "not consistently candid in his communications with the board." Now, via witness testimony ...
OpenAI Faces Executive Exodus Amid Restructuring
Reporting from The Verge, Fortune, the Wall Street Journal, Business Insider, and Observer documents a wave of senior departures at **OpenAI**, highlighted by the September 2024 resignation of CTO **Mira Murati** (per The Verge and Fortune). The same period saw exits by senior research leaders including **Bob McGrew**, **Barret Zoph**, **Lilian Weng**, and others, with outlets noting that ...
