**Former OpenAI CTO Establishes New Team**
On February 18, former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati announced the establishment of the “Thinking Machines Lab,” which comprises a team of 30 researchers and engineers from OpenAI, Meta, Mistral, and other organizations.
Unlike other companies founded by former OpenAI executives, Thinking Machines Lab does not solely pursue the holy grail of AI — AGI (Artificial General Intelligence) — but aims to popularize AI applications, placing greater emphasis on the safety and transparency of AI.
“We do not only want to create fully autonomous AI systems; we also want to develop AI systems that can closely collaborate with humans,” said Thinking Machines Lab. “Current AI systems excel in programming and mathematical calculations, but what we aim to create is a more broadly applicable AI.”
**Former OpenAI CTO’s Founding Goal: To Build a More Human-Centric AI System?**
“I started this company alongside a remarkable team of scientists, engineers, and developers,” Murati stated regarding the goals of Thinking Machines Lab. She noted that beyond enabling users to adjust AI systems to meet individual needs, the lab also aspires to develop more powerful AI systems and promote a culture of open science.
“I started Thinking Machines Lab alongside a remarkable team of scientists, engineers, and builders. We’re building three things:
– Helping people adapt AI systems to work for their specific needs
– Developing strong foundations to build more capable AI systems
– Fostering a…— Mira Murati (@miramurati) February 18, 2025
Murati pointed out that a significant issue with the current AI landscape is that, although AI systems are powerful, they are difficult for the average person to understand and use. “The scientific community’s understanding of cutting-edge AI systems has not kept pace with the speed of AI functionality development. The training methods for these systems are mostly held within top research labs, which limits public discussion about AI and people’s ability to use it,” stated Thinking Machines Lab.
Although Thinking Machines Lab has not yet released any products or models, the team aims to develop “multimodal” AI systems capable of collaborating with humans. “We do not only want to develop fully autonomous AI systems; we are dedicated to building multimodal systems that can collaborate with humans,” the team emphasized. Such systems prioritize human-machine collaboration and can adapt to various professional fields. The team indicated that they are developing AI models in areas such as science and programming to facilitate new scientific discoveries and engineering innovations.
AI safety and transparency are also core objectives for Thinking Machines Lab. Compared to other competitors, the team noted that they will enhance safety through various means, including sharing best practices and safety development guidelines with the industry. The research and product teams will adopt a “co-design” approach and commit to maintaining research transparency by sharing code, datasets, and model specifications to accelerate external research.
Compared to other competitors like OpenAI, the team stated that the research and product teams will adopt a “co-design” approach and commit to maintaining research transparency by sharing code, datasets, and model specifications to accelerate external research.
Image / DALL·E
Additionally, Thinking Machines Lab emphasized that the value of AI should be reflected in its contributions to the real world. They believe that the most significant breakthroughs often come from rethinking objectives rather than merely optimizing existing metrics.
**What is Mira Murati’s Background?**
Before joining OpenAI, Murati worked at Tesla for three years as a senior product manager for the Model X, during which Tesla released early versions of the Autopilot driver assistance system. In 2018, Murati joined OpenAI and was promoted to CTO in 2022, leading the development of ChatGPT, DALL-E, and Codex. During Sam Altman’s brief dismissal from OpenAI’s board in November 2024, she served as the interim CEO and supported Altman’s return during the turmoil, leaving OpenAI in October of the same year.
“Today, we are excited to announce Thinking Machines Lab (https://t.co/gD5QlPMfWw), an artificial intelligence research and product company. We are scientists, engineers, and builders behind some of the most widely used AI products and libraries, including ChatGPT,…— Thinking Machines (@thinkymachines) February 18, 2025
Currently, the Thinking Machines Lab team consists of around 30 members, including researchers from AI giants such as Google DeepMind, Character.ai, and Mistral, as well as many former senior executives from OpenAI. In addition to having Barret Zoph, who previously served as Chief Researcher at OpenAI, as CTO, OpenAI co-founder John Schulman serves as Chief Scientist.
References: Tech Crunch, The New York Times, Reuters, The Verge, AXIOS. This article is a collaborative repost from: Startup Meet-up.