Factbox: Key Personnel Changes at OpenAI – By Reuters

Microsoft-backed OpenAI is reportedly planning to restructure its main operations into a for-profit benefit corporation, which would no longer be under the control of its non-profit board. This move comes even as another senior executive has announced their departure. Following the restructuring, the valuation of OpenAI could reach $150 billion, and CEO Sam Altman is set to receive equity for the first time.

Chief Technology Officer Mira Murati recently declared her intention to leave the company, adding to a list of high-profile exits. Originally, OpenAI was founded by 11 members, including Altman and Elon Musk, who served as co-chairs. Currently, only Altman and Wojciech Zaremba remain with the organization.

Here’s a timeline of notable personnel changes at OpenAI:

• Feb. 13: Andrej Karpathy, a key AI researcher and founding member, departs from the company. He later announced plans to establish an AI-focused educational platform named Eureka Labs.

• March 8: Sam Altman returns to OpenAI’s board alongside three new directors: Sue Desmond-Hellmann, a former CEO of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; Nicole Seligman, a past president of Sony Entertainment; and Fidji Simo, CEO of Instacart. Altman had previously been ousted in November due to concerns about transparency but was quickly reinstated.

• May 14: Ilya Sutskever, co-founder and chief scientist who played a role in Altman’s firing, leaves the startup. He subsequently co-founded a new venture, Safe Superintelligence, which secured $1 billion in funding to advance safe AI systems.

• June 10: OpenAI hires Sarah Friar, the former CEO of Nextdoor, as its first chief financial officer. It also appoints Kevin Weil, with past experience at Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, as chief product officer.

• Aug. 5: John Schulman, a co-founder, moves to competitor Anthropic, while co-founder and president Greg Brockman takes a sabbatical until the year’s end.

• Aug. 8: Zico Kolter, a professor and head of the machine learning department at Carnegie Mellon University, is appointed to the board. His research focuses on AI safety, and he will serve on the board’s safety and security committee.

• Sept. 25: Mira Murati steps down from her role after six and a half years, having briefly served as CEO following Altman’s dismissal by the board.