OpenAI's chief research officer, Bob McGrew, and research VP, Barret Zoph, left the company on Wednesday, just hours after the announcement of CTO Mira Murati’s departure. 

CEO Sam Altman shared these resignations in a post on X on Wednesday evening, along with plans for leadership transitions. He clarified, “Mira, Bob, and Barret made these decisions independently of each other and amicably, but the timing of Mira’s decision was such that it made sense to now do this all at once, allowing for a smooth handover to the next generation of leadership.”

Mark Chen, the VP of research, has been promoted to OpenAI’s new SVP of research and will lead the research organization alongside Jakub Pachocki, who will serve as chief scientist. 

Chen expressed his excitement about his new role, stating, “While today’s departures are tough, I’m incredibly excited and honored to lead research at @OpenAI alongside @merettm. I truly believe that OpenAI is the best place to work on AI, and I've been through enough ups and downs to know it's never wise to bet against us.”

Additionally, Matt Knight, the former head of security, will take on the role of chief information security officer, while chief product officer Kevin Weil and VP of engineering Srinivas Narayanan will continue leading OpenAI’s applied team, responsible for bringing the company's technology to enterprise and consumer clients.

Josh Achiam, a research scientist, will assume a new position as head of mission alignment, focusing on ensuring the company’s culture and operations are aligned with its mission. Altman noted that this new leadership team will report directly to him, as he shifts his focus back to the technical and product aspects of the organization.

In his post, Altman reassured employees and external observers that leadership changes are a natural occurrence in rapidly growing companies. He acknowledged that the abrupt nature of these departures is unusual but highlighted that Mira’s reasoning made sense to him.

McGrew stated that it was “time for [him] to take a break,” reflecting on his eight-year journey at OpenAI and expressing confidence in the company's leadership.

Zoph, who joined OpenAI in 2022, mentioned that it felt like a natural point for him to explore new opportunities outside the organization. He led the post-training team responsible for refining OpenAI’s models before their deployment into products.

Despite the public portrayal of amicable splits, these departures occur amid reports of OpenAI transitioning from a nonprofit-governed entity to a for-profit company, with Altman expected to receive a 7% equity stake. Tensions regarding the company’s direction could have contributed to these recent changes.

Further details are anticipated during an all-hands meeting scheduled for Thursday, as McGrew, Zoph, and Murati join a growing list of high-level executives leaving OpenAI. This list includes notable figures such as Andrej Karpathy and co-founder John Schulman, with only three of the original 13 founders still at the company.

Altman remarked on the intense nature of leadership at OpenAI, acknowledging both the privilege and the relentless demands of leading such a rapidly growing company. OpenAI's press office has not responded to inquiries regarding the recent departures.