OpenAI rehires co-founders of Thinking Machines Lab
Big moves in the AI world: Mira Murati, CEO of Thinking Machines Lab (and former OpenAI CTO), announced that co-founder Barret Zoph was out as CTO and Soumith Chintala would take over.
But just after that, Fidji Simo, OpenAI's CEO of Applications, revealed that Zoph—along with fellow TML co-founder Luke Metz and researcher Sam Schoenholz—are all heading back to OpenAI after weeks of talks.
It's a clear sign the competition for top AI talent is heating up.
Why does this matter?
Thinking Machines Lab made headlines last year with $2 billion in funding and a $12 billion valuation, thanks to big-name investors like Andreessen Horowitz and NVIDIA.
But losing three of its four co-founders so soon could shake investor confidence and change the game for startups chasing elite researchers.
For anyone following tech drama or dreaming of building the next big thing, it's a reminder: in AI, talent really is everything.