Mira Murati's Thinking Machines Lab loses cofounder Lilian Weng

Thinking Machines Lab, an artificial‑intelligence startup founded by Albanian‑American Mira Murati, has seen its fourth co‑founder depart within a year. Lilian Weng announced she was leaving the company, citing the health impact of senior‑level responsibilities and a desire to return to a research‑focused role. Within days she rejoined OpenAI to work on next‑generation AI systems.

The turnover underscores the fierce competition for top AI talent among firms such as OpenAI, Meta, Anthropic, Google and emerging startups. Analysts note that high salaries alone no longer retain researchers; they also seek greater compute resources, project influence and freedom. A technology‑sector recruiter was quoted saying, “It’s partly about the money and partly about the ego to change the world.”