Three top technical leaders of ChatGPT maker OpenAI have resigned from their posts. These include Chief Technology Officer Mira Murati, Vice President-Research Barrett Joffe, and Chief Research Officer Bob McGrew. These people have posted about their resignation on social media platform X. Murati has written, “I am leaving because I want to create time and space for my own exploration.”

OpenAI is backed by Microsoft. The startup is in talks for a new funding round of $6.5 billion with a valuation of $150 billion. According to a Reuters report, the startup is planning to restructure to become a for-profit corporation. This will give CEO Sam Altman an equity stake. Currently, a non-profit board controls OpenAI.

The funding round has not closed yet

The funding round hasn’t closed yet and the startup is in the process of finalizing it. It’s unclear if the executives’ departure will impact the ongoing fundraising. Some fundraising documents include a “material adverse change” clause. This clause allows investors to back out of a deal if something happens to the company that could have a significant negative impact.

Mira Murati is still working.

According to a source close to Murati, she is still working at OpenAI while she is negotiating her exit from the startup, Reuters reported. She has been part of OpenAI for about 6 and a half years. Murati briefly served as CEO in November 2023 when the board fired Sam Altman and temporarily handed over the reins to Murati. Altman was brought back to the startup just 5 days after his ouster.

According to Murati's LinkedIn profile, she joined OpenAI in December 2020 as "Vice President of Applied AI and Partnerships" and was promoted to CTO in May 2022. PBeforeOpenAI that, she worked at virtual and augmented reality startups Leap Motion and Tesla. As CTO, Murati has often appeared alongside Altman as the public face of OpenAI.