Key Leaders Exit OpenAI Amid Organizational Shifts

Greg Brockman, OpenAI’s president and one of its 11 cofounders, is taking an extended leave of absence.

I’m taking a sabbatical through end of year. First time to relax since co-founding OpenAI 9 years ago. The mission is far from complete; we still have a safe AGI to build.

— Greg Brockman (@gdb) August 6, 2024

Another co-founder, John Schulman, has left for Anthropic, a rival AI firm founded by former OpenAI researchers.

I shared the following note with my OpenAI colleagues today:

I've made the difficult decision to leave OpenAI. This choice stems from my desire to deepen my focus on AI alignment, and to start a new chapter of my career where I can return to hands-on technical work. I've decided…

— John Schulman (@johnschulman2) August 6, 2024

Additionally, Peter Deng, a product leader who joined OpenAI last year after tenures at Meta Platforms, Uber, and Airtable, has also departed, according to a source with direct knowledge.

Meanwhile, the CEO Sam Altman posted on X, “Thank you for everything you’ve done,” in a reply to John Schulman’s resignation post.

Earlier in the day, Elon Musk filed a new lawsuit against OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman, re-opening a legal battle over artificial intelligence (AI). Musk, who co-founded OpenAI in 2015, initially sued the company in February, accusing it of abandoning its nonprofit mission by reserving advanced AI technology for private customers. He dropped the lawsuit in June after OpenAI published old emails from Musk related to the company's creation.