SAN FRANCISCO – Mira Murati, one of the figureheads behind the wildly popular OpenAI platforms ChatGPT and Dall-E, has announced her decision to step down as chief technology officer. Her exit is the latest in a series of high-ranking officials leaving the AI development company.

Murati has been with OpenAI for over six years, gaining prominence as an executive after she was made interim CEO during the ouster of co-founder Sam Altman in 2023.

Her decision to resign appeared to be personal.

“After much reflection, I have made the difficult decision to leave OpenAI … I’m stepping away because I want to create the time and space to do my own exploration,” Murati wrote in a company memo later posted on social media platform X. She promised a “smooth transition” in light of her departure.

“My six-and-a-half years with the OpenAI team have been an extraordinary privilege,” she said. “There’s never an ideal time to step away from a place one cherishes, yet this moment feels right.”

Altman responded to the news, stating on X: “I feel tremendous gratitude towards her for what she has helped us build and accomplish, but I most of all feel personal gratitude towards her for the support and love during all the hard times. I am excited for what she’ll do next.”

In June, Murati made headlines for her controversial statement on the future of creative jobs. At a Tech Live Conference hosted by The Wall Street Journal, the executive said: “Some creative jobs maybe will go away, but maybe they shouldn’t have been there in the first place if the content that comes out of it is not very high quality.”

Murati said, “using [AI] as a tool for education [and] creativity will expand our intelligence and creativity and imagination”.

Executive departures at OpenAI

After acknowledging Murati’s departure, Altman revealed two more officials from the research division were leaving OpenAI: research chief Bob McGrew and VP Barret Zoph. The CEO clarified that – while the departures were for different reasons – the company will work to ensure a seamless transition to those next-in-command.

“The timing of Mira’s decision was such that it made sense to now do this all at once, so that we can work together for a smooth handover to the next generation of leadership,” Altman said.

In May, Ilya Sutskever, OpenAI’s co-founder and chief scientist who raised concerns about the dangers of misusing AI, and safety expert Jan Leike left the company. John Schulman, another founding member, resigned in August to join Amazon-backed AI startup Anthropic, a direct competitor to OpenAI.

OpenAI restructuring to a for-profit model

The exits come amid news that OpenAI – which began as a non-profit research lab – will soon pivot to a for-profit model to yield higher returns for investors. The restructuring plan aims to wrest OpenAI from the control of its non-profit board, according to sources who spoke to Reuters.

Despite an increase in commercial interests, OpenAI will purportedly maintain a small non-profit division that will “own a minority stake in the for-profit company,” the report said.

“We remain focused on building AI that benefits everyone, and we’re working with our board to ensure that we’re best positioned to succeed in our mission. The non-profit is core to our mission and will continue to exist,” a representative from OpenAI said.

Some sources, meanwhile, highlighted a possible shift in how AI risks will be managed in a for-profit model.

As part of restructuring efforts, OpenAI is reportedly gearing up for a funding round that could bolster its valuation to US$150 billion, Bloomberg reported.