- Thinking Machines Lab, founded by former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati, has recruited about 30 leading AI experts from companies like OpenAI, Meta, and Mistral, aiming to make AI more adaptable, foundational, and open.
- The startup focuses on three main objectives: customizing AI for specific needs, building robust AI foundations, and promoting open science to advance the field collaboratively.
- Murati, who is currently raising venture capital for the new venture after her high-profile exit from OpenAI, is part of a trend where former OpenAI executives start their own AI companies, emphasizing human-AI collaboration.
Thinking Machines Lab, a new AI startup spearheaded by Mira Murati, former CTO of OpenAI, has quickly assembled a team of around 30 top researchers and engineers from leading tech firms like OpenAI, Meta, and Mistral. The company’s mission, as articulated by Murati on X, focuses on three core areas: adapting AI for specific user needs, constructing robust foundations for more capable AI systems, and promoting open science to enhance collective understanding and improvement of AI technologies. This approach aims to make AI not only more advanced but also broadly beneficial and comprehensible to a wider audience.
I started Thinking Machines Lab alongside a remarkable team of scientists, engineers, and builders. We’re building three things:
– Helping people adapt AI systems to work for their specific needs
– Developing strong foundations to build more capable AI systems
– Fostering a…— Mira Murati (@miramurati) February 18, 2025
The startup is committed to fostering a symbiotic relationship between humans and AI, emphasizing collaboration over competition. This focus on human-AI interaction reflects a broader trend in the AI industry towards systems that enhance, rather than replace, human capabilities. Murati’s vision for Thinking Machines Lab includes developing AI that is practical, accessible, and grounded in a culture of transparency and scientific collaboration, which could potentially set new standards in the field.
Amidst her new venture, Murati is also in the process of securing funding from venture capitalists, a move largely reported in October. This fundraising follows her unexpected departure from OpenAI in late September, during a period when the company was navigating significant changes in its governance structure. Her brief stint as interim CEO of OpenAI in 2023, following Sam Altman’s ousting, highlighted her significant role in the AI community, making her departure a notable event in the tech sector.
Murati’s launch into entrepreneurship adds her to a list of former OpenAI executives who have ventured into creating their own AI startups. This trend, including the establishment of competitors like Anthropic and Ilya Sutskever’s Safe Superintelligence, underscores a dynamic shift within the AI industry where leadership and innovation are increasingly decentralized. Thinking Machines Lab’s emphasis on practical applications, foundational AI research, and open science could position it as a key player in this evolving landscape, potentially influencing how AI is developed and integrated into society.
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