Thinking Machines Co-founder Lilian Weng: Health Exit Leads to OpenAI

Lilian Weng, a distinguished co-founder of Thinking Machines, has announced her departure from the company this week, citing pressing health concerns as the primary reason for her decision.

In an internal Slack message, which she subsequently shared on X, Weng articulated her inability to maintain the demanding pace inherent to a startup environment. She stated, "I don’t feel I’m able to continue at the pace a startup requires." She further elaborated, "After thinking about it for several months, I ultimately have to admit that the amount of consistent stress and workload have pushed me beyond what my health can sustain physically."

In a significant development reported by TechCrunch on Wednesday, OpenAI confirmed that Weng would be rejoining the organization. Weng previously held the influential position of VP of AI Safety Research at the pioneering AI company.

According to an OpenAI spokesperson, Weng is slated to lead a high-level team dedicated to accelerating the company's internal research initiatives. This team will play a crucial role in fostering cross-disciplinary research, particularly in the area of recursive self-improvement – a groundbreaking process enabling an AI system to iteratively enhance its own capabilities, thereby becoming more powerful.

While this move might appear to contradict Weng’s earlier statements regarding the health impact of a high-pressure startup environment, it is plausible that her new role at OpenAI, where she is not a co-founder, will entail less direct operational pressure. Nevertheless, this high-profile transition underscores the intense competition for top talent currently characterizing the AI research sector.

Mira Murati, a co-founder of Thinking Machines and formerly OpenAI’s CTO, responded to Weng’s X post earlier in the week, expressing her support for Weng’s decision to prioritize her health. It remains unconfirmed whether Murati was aware of Weng's impending return to OpenAI at the time of her public statement.

Sharing her decision on X, Weng conveyed her sentiments: "It is a hard and sad decision. I shared this message with folks at Thinky. Thank you all for the time together♥️ Just as the last sentence in my message: The future worth building is human."

Murati’s reply to Weng’s post conveyed warmth and understanding: "We’ll miss you, it’s been wonderful building Thinky together. I’m glad that you’re putting your health first. Thank you for everything."