In a significant development for Silicon Valley’s AI sector, three key members of the founding team at Thinking Machines Lab are departing to rejoin OpenAI. This shift includes cofounders Brett Zoph and Luke Metz, along with Sam Schoenholz, as announced by Fidji Simo, OpenAI's CEO of Applications, on social media platform X.
Simo revealed that Zoph would report directly to her, while Metz and Schoenholz would report to Zoph. The departure follows allegations of “unethical conduct” leading to Zoph's termination, as reported by Core Memory. Meanwhile, two other researchers from Thinking Machines, Lia Guy and Ian O’Connell, are also leaving, with Guy moving to OpenAI.
This series of exits highlights the challenges faced by newer AI labs in attracting and retaining top talent against established competitors like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google DeepMind. Thinking Machines had recently raised around $2 billion in funding, valuing the startup at approximately $12 billion.