Jonathan Lachman, the former head of special projects at OpenAI, has recently transitioned to a new artificial intelligence research lab established by ex-OpenAI executive Mira Murati, according to two sources familiar with the matter. This represents the most prominent hire Murati has made since departing OpenAI in September of last year to launch her highly publicized venture, which aims to delve into artificial general intelligence. So far, Murati has recruited about 10 researchers and engineers from competitors, including OpenAI, Character AI, and Google DeepMind. Her startup is still in its nascent phase, lacking both a name and a definitive product direction, according to two insiders. Neither Murati nor Lachman responded immediately to requests for comment, but a representative from OpenAI did confirm Lachman's departure. Murati left OpenAI less than a year after the company's board of directors unexpectedly ousted CEO Sam Altman in late 2023. In the subsequent turmoil, the board briefly appointed her, who then was the chief technology officer, as the interim CEO. This was a significant blow to Altman. "I was like, that feels really bad, " he shared with podcaster Lex Fridman last March, describing Murati’s promotion as “the low point” of the intense leadership crisis that temporarily enveloped OpenAI.

Less than a week later, after over 730 OpenAI employees threatened to resign, Altman was reinstated as CEO. Following the incident, Altman and Murati maintained a close working relationship at OpenAI. He praised her handling of the chaotic weekend during the crisis on the podcast. When Murati resigned from the company 10 months later, she expressed her gratitude to Altman in her farewell message. “There’s never a perfect time to leave a place that means so much, ” she wrote to OpenAI employees, later sharing her note on X. She noted she was “stepping away to create the time and space for my own exploration. ” A month later, Reuters reported that Murati was looking to raise over $100 million to finance a mysterious new company, although this figure had not been finalized.