Mira Murati, the Albanian-American tech leader behind ChatGPT and other major AI tools, has declined a $1 billion offer from Meta. Her new company, Thinking Machines Lab, recently raised $2 billion and plans to stay fully independent.
Mira Murati, a well-known name in the world of artificial intelligence (AI), is making headlines again. Murati, who used to be the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at OpenAI, has said no to a huge $1 billion offer from Meta, the company owned by Mark Zuckerberg.
According to a report by Wired, Meta wanted Murati and her new AI company, Thinking Machines Lab, to join its team working on AI superintelligence. But Murati and her entire team rejected the offer.
In fact, she told the media that “not a single person” from her company accepted Meta’s offer. Some employees were offered deals between $200 million to $1 billion, but everyone turned them down. None of them wanted to leave Thinking Machines Lab for Meta.
Who Is Mira Murati?
Mira Murati was born in Albania in 1988. At just 16 years old, she won a scholarship to attend high school in Canada. She later studied math at Colby College and mechanical engineering at Dartmouth College.
Before she joined OpenAI in 2018, Murati worked at big companies like Goldman Sachs, Zodiac Aerospace, and Tesla. At OpenAI, she quickly became the CTO and played a big role in creating popular AI tools like ChatGPT, DALL·E, and Codex.
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In 2023, Murati briefly became the CEO of OpenAI after Sam Altman was temporarily removed from the role. But when Altman returned a few days later, she went back to being the CTO.
Her New AI Company
Murati left OpenAI suddenly in September 2024 and started her own AI company called Thinking Machines Lab. She joins a growing list of former OpenAI leaders who are launching their own AI startups.
Just this month, Thinking Machines Lab announced it had raised $2 billion in funding. Despite Meta’s massive offer, Murati and her team are choosing to stay independent and continue working on their own vision for the future of AI.
Who is Mira Murati?
Mira Murati is an Albanian-American engineer and AI expert. She is best known for being the former Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at OpenAI, where she helped develop groundbreaking technologies like ChatGPT, DALL·E, and Codex.
What is Thinking Machines Lab?
Thinking Machines Lab is an artificial intelligence startup founded by Mira Murati after she left OpenAI in September 2024. The company focuses on advanced AI research and has already raised $2 billion in funding.
Why did Mira Murati reject Meta’s $1 billion offer?
Mira Murati and her team chose to remain independent and committed to their vision at Thinking Machines Lab, rather than join Meta’s AI Superintelligence team, despite being offered up to $1 billion.
What is Mira Murati known for in the tech world?
Murati is widely recognised for leading the development of revolutionary AI tools at OpenAI, including ChatGPT, DALL·E, and Codex. She is considered one of the top minds in artificial intelligence today.