Thinking Machines co-founder Lilian Weng leaves for health reasons and returns to OpenAI
Lilian Weng left Thinking Machines, the company she co-founded, for health reasons and is returning to OpenAI, where she will lead a team focused on accelerating internal research, including work on recursive AI self-improvement.
Lilian Weng, co-founder of Thinking Machines, announced her departure from the company. She cited health problems caused by prolonged stress and the workload associated with the pace of a startup. In a message shared internally on Slack and subsequently on X, she wrote that, after several months of deliberation, she had concluded that her health could no longer physically withstand the pace required by the startup.
On Wednesday, OpenAI confirmed to TechCrunch that Weng is returning to the company. Weng previously served at OpenAI as Vice President of AI Safety Research (VP of AI Safety Research). According to a company spokesperson, she will lead a newly created top-level team tasked with accelerating internal research at OpenAI. The team is intended to support cross-cutting research on recursive self-improvement – a process that would allow an AI system to improve iteratively and become more capable.
The source points to a certain discrepancy between the reason Weng gave for leaving and her decision to join another major AI lab. However, the direct pressure associated with being a startup co-founder should not affect her to the same extent at OpenAI, where she is no longer a co-founder.
Mira Murati, co-founder of Thinking Machines and former Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at OpenAI, responded to the post by Weng on X by supporting her decision to prioritize her health. The source does not make clear whether Murati knew at the time about the planned return of Weng to OpenAI.
Why it matters
The case shows how intense the competition for top researchers is among AI labs – even a senior co-founder leaves a startup for health reasons but joins another major company shortly afterward. It also suggests that OpenAI is strengthening its internal research into recursive AI self-improvement, a relevant signal for tracking the strategic priorities of the company.
Relevant practical impact
What this means
For a business
The departure of a key researcher from one startup to OpenAI, where she will lead a team focused on accelerating internal research, including work on recursive AI self-improvement, highlights the continuing fierce competition for top talent among AI labs and the direction of the research focus at OpenAI – which is relevant context for companies that, over the long term, … on models from OpenAI
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