Mira Murati, a prominent figure in the artificial intelligence sector, has officially announced the closure of a funding round that raised $2 billion for her new initiative, the Thinking Machines Lab. She was most recently the interim CEO of OpenAI. In her short time there, she contributed to the creation of revolutionary AI products such as ChatGPT, DALL-E and voice mode. That new venture is now valued at $10 billion as investors’ enormous appetite for AI tools continues to boom.
Murati’s departure from OpenAI in September 2024 was a turning point and, in hindsight, her meteoric rise. That exodus — which included deep-pocketed investors and Altman allies — initially followed the dramatic oust of CEO Sam Altman’s leadership. She was not just one of them—she was the dream. This coalition included many of the brightest minds in Silicon Valley and tech hubs across the country. They thought OpenAI should reconsider its course to more deeply reflect its guiding ideals.
For OpenAI, November 2023 proved to be one of its most turbulent months ever. Murati assumed leadership as interim CEO immediately after the board voted to remove Altman. Her leadership was key during this transformational transitional period. She threaded the needle of leading the organization through complete uncertainty while desperately trying to hold a solid ground. Murati’s deep experience at the AI cutting edge gave her the insights necessary to steer OpenAI through these troubled waters.
During her 3 years working in OpenAI, Murati lead the creation of some of their most innovative products. These innovations have significantly influenced the AI landscape. ChatGPT, one of the world’s most advanced and useful conversational AI models, with a revolutionary easy-to-use design, took off on her watch. Similarly, DALL-E, an innovative image generation model, showcased the potential of AI in creative fields, allowing users to create images from textual descriptions. Moreover, Murati was a key driver in creating voice mode to better engage with the mode of interaction for consumers to AI apps.
The creation of Thinking Machines Lab is a positive sign that Murati is focused on pushing the boundaries of AI technologies even further. In one major respect, her new venture has plenty of company—with investors. It seeks to cross what seems like terra incognita in AI development and create solutions to hard problems in every field. The lab’s lofty aims are in line with Murati’s goal of using AI to help create massive positive change on a societal level.
