Barret Zoph fired from $12B AI startup Thinking Machines as internal turmoil triggers exodus to OpenAI

AI Startup Loses Co-Founder After Contentious Meeting

Thinking Machines Lab, the high-profile AI startup valued at $12 billion, has lost its chief technology officer and co-founder Barret Zoph following a dramatic confrontation with CEO Mira Murati1

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. The dismissal on January 14 came after a tense meeting where Zoph, along with co-founder Luke Metz and founding researcher Sam Schoenholz, pushed for greater control over the company's technical direction2

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. The three men had grown deeply unhappy with the startup's strategic direction, as Thinking Machines lagged behind OpenAI and other rivals in releasing products while struggling to raise new funding at a proposed $50 billion valuation1

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During the January 12 meeting, the trio lobbied for Zoph to oversee decisions about technical strategy and threatened to leave if changes were not made1

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. Murati rejected their demands, telling Zoph he was already the chief technology officer and should fulfill his responsibilities. Two days later, she fired him, and OpenAI immediately rehired Zoph along with Metz and Schoenholz1

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Workplace Relationship Adds Complexity to Executive Departures

The internal turmoil at Thinking Machines was compounded by an undisclosed workplace relationship between Barret Zoph and a junior colleague that began while both worked at OpenAI2

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. Mira Murati had suspected the relationship as early as last summer, and Zoph initially denied it before later acknowledging it weeks later2

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. While the woman was junior to Zoph, she did not report to him directly2

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. Shortly after the disclosure, she left Thinking Machines and returned to OpenAI3

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Murati told staff that Thinking Machines had terminated Zoph's employment due to "unethical conduct," according to Fortune3

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. However, Zoph disputed this characterization, stating he was fired only after Murati learned he was negotiating with another company. "At no time did TML cite to me any performance reasons or any unethical conduct on my part as the reason for my termination and any suggestion otherwise is false and defamatory," he told The Wall Street Journal2

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. Murati had raised concerns about Zoph's productivity in recent months, with executives observing a sharp drop in his engagement after he was stripped of managerial duties, including significantly reduced activity on Slack2

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Competition for AI Talent Intensifies as Meta Enters Fray

The disputes over leadership at Thinking Machines have triggered a broader talent exodus that underscores the fierce competition for AI talent in Silicon Valley. Another nine or so of Thinking Machines' roughly 100 employees have decamped to OpenAI or received offers to join the company. Meta has made offers worth hundreds of millions of dollars to some of the startup's employees1

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. In October, co-founder Andrew Tulloch left the startup to return to Meta Platforms3

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OpenAI's chief executive of applications, Fidji Simo, announced that Zoph, Metz, and Schoenholz were returning to OpenAI, stating that Zoph's hiring had been in the works for weeks3

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. She added that she did not share Thinking Machines' concerns about his ethics. Two additional Thinking Machines researchers, Lia Guy and Ian O'Connell, also departed, with Guy joining OpenAI3

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. The departures have left the startup with just three of its original six founders less than a year after launch2

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Funding Success Masks Deeper Strategic Challenges

Founded in February 2025 by Mira Murati and a group of former OpenAI executives and researchers, Thinking Machines quickly became one of Silicon Valley's most closely watched ventures3

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. The company raised about $2 billion in July in a record-setting seed funding round from venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, chipmakers Nvidia and AMD, and others, achieving a valuation of $12 billion despite not having released a product1

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Bloomberg reported that the company was in talks to raise additional funding at a valuation of up to $50 billion3

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However, the ambitious valuation target became a point of contention. Zoph had been talking behind Murati's back since October with OpenAI's CEO Sam Altman about returning to the company1

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. The men had urged Murati to strike a deal, as Meta had discussed buying Thinking Machines and Murati had developed closer ties with the CEO of Anthropic, but no transaction resulted1

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. The turmoil highlights the fragility of even the best-funded newcomers and raises questions about talent retention strategies as established players like OpenAI and Meta aggressively recruit from emerging competitors.