THE HALFAX HEIMDALL AUGUR

Two Thinking Machines Lab Cofounders Are Leaving to Rejoin OpenAI Comment Loader Save Story Save this story Comment Loader Save Story Save this story Thinking Machines cofounders Barret Zoph and Luke Metz are leaving the fledgling AI lab and rejoining OpenAI, the ChatGPT-maker announced on Wednesday. OpenAI’s CEO of applications, Fidji Simo, shared the news in a memo to staff this afternoon. Two narratives are already forming about what prompted the departures. The news was first reported on X by technology reporter Kylie Robison, who wrote that Zoph was fired for “unethical conduct.” A source close to Thinking Machines alleged that Zoph had shared confidential company information with competitors. WIRED was unable to verify this information with Zoph, who did not immediately respond to WIRED’s request for comment. According to the memo from Simo, Zoph told Thinking Machines CEO Mira Murati on Monday he was considering leaving. He was then fired on Wednesday. Simo went on to write that OpenAI doesn’t share the same concerns about Zoph as Murati. The personnel shake-up is a major win for OpenAI, which recently lost its VP of research, Jerry Tworek . A third Thinking Machines staffe…

OpenAI Transfers Their Drama IP to Thinking Machines Lab - Spyglass Two Thinking Machines Lab Cofounders Are Leaving to Rejoin OpenAI The departures are a blow for Thinking Machines Lab. Two narratives are already emerging about why they happened. WIRED Maxwell Zeff I mean... Thinking Machines cofounders Barret Zoph and Luke Metz are leaving the fledgling AI lab and rejoining OpenAI, the ChatGPT-maker announced on Wednesday. OpenAI’s CEO of applications, Fidji Simo, shared the news in a memo to staff this afternoon. And it's not just those two, a third key employee – I would say "early" but this company is not even a year old , so they're all early – Sam Schoenholz, is also bolting back to OpenAI. And this is after they had already lost another co-founder, Andrew Tulloch, in October . At least he went to Meta, finally giving in to one of Mark Zuckerberg's "Godfather" offers . That somehow looks better than this situation... Two narratives are already forming about what prompted the departures. The news was first reported on X by technology reporter Kylie Robison , who wrote that Zoph was fired for “unethical conduct.” A source close to Thinking Machines alleged that Zoph had share…

Barret Zoph's exit from OpenAI after five months exposes the costs of a ... Barret Zoph has left OpenAI after five months in charge of enterprise AI sales, just as the company is trying to prove it can turn ChatGPT into a durable business product, not only a consumer habit. Barret Zoph is out at OpenAI, again. The Verge reported on June 19, 2026 that Zoph has departed after returning in mid-January to lead the company’s enterprise AI sales push, a role OpenAI had positioned around business customers and coding products ahead of a planned IPO. OpenAI confirmed the departure to The Verge. Zoph posted a goodbye message internally and did not immediately comment publicly. You don’t need to be inside OpenAI to see why the timing is poor. The company has been telling the market that enterprise customers are central to its next phase, while its consumer products, research ambitions and infrastructure bills all compete for attention. Axios reported in March that OpenAI said it was on pace for $25 billion in revenue this year, but also noted Ramp data showing Anthropic taking more than 73% of AI tool spending among companies buying AI tools for the first time. That is the customer OpenAI w…

Barret Zoph to lead OpenAI's aggressive commercial pivot OpenAI has reorganized its leadership, appointing Barret Zoph to head its enterprise artificial intelligence sales efforts in 2026, according to an internal company memo cited byThe Information. This strategic shift aims to address declining market share in the enterprise sector. Zoph returned to OpenAI last week after co-founding and serving as Chief Technology Officer at Thinking Machine Labs since October 2024. He previously held the position of Vice President of Post-Training Inference at OpenAI from September 2022 to October 2024. OpenAI introduced its ChatGPT Enterprise product in 2023, preceding Anthropic and Google’s enterprise offerings. The company reports over 5 million business users for the product, with SoftBank, Target, and Lowe’s among its clientele. Don't miss out on the latest insights, trends, and analysis in the world of data, technology, and startups. Subscribe to our newsletter and get exclusive content delivered straight to your inbox. Despite its early market entry, OpenAI’s enterprise large language model usage market share decreased from 50% in 2023 to 27% at the end of 2025. In contrast, Anthro…

Thinking Machines CTO Barret Zoph, Two Other Senior Researchers Rejoin ... Thinking Machines had been founded by former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati and other senior OpenAI researchers, but many of these researchers seem to be heading back to OpenAI. Barret Zoph, who served as CTO and co-founder of Thinking Machines, has departed the AI startup and returned to OpenAI, along with two other senior researchers, Luke Metz and Samuel Schoenholz. The moves represent a possible blow to the young company, which was founded just months ago in 2025 by former OpenAI executives. “We have parted ways with Barret Zoph,” said Mira Murati, co-founder and CEO of Thinking Machines, in a statement. “Soumith Chintala will be the new CTO of Thinking Machines. He is a brilliant and seasoned leader who has made important contributions to the AI field for over a decade, and he’s been a major contributor to our team. We could not be more excited to have him take on this new responsibility.” The departure of Zoph, Metz, and Schoenholz means that half of Thinking Machines’ six-person co-founding leadership team has now left the company within its first year of operation. According to company materials, the origin…

Barret Zoph is out at OpenAI again after just five months AI Report OpenAI Barret Zoph is out at OpenAI again after just five months He rejoined the company in January after a stint as co-founder of Mira Murati’s competitor, Thinking Machines Lab. by Hayden Field Jun 19, 2026, 4:49 AM UTC Link Share Gift Image: The Verge AI Report OpenAI Barret Zoph is out at OpenAI again after just five months He rejoined the company in January after a stint as co-founder of Mira Murati’s competitor, Thinking Machines Lab. by Hayden Field Jun 19, 2026, 4:49 AM UTC Link Share Gift Hayden Field is The Verge’s senior AI reporter. An AI beat reporter for more than five years, her work has also appeared in CNBC, MIT Technology Review, Wired UK, and other outlets. Five months after returning to OpenAI, Barret Zoph — the company’s head of enterprise AI sales — has departed, The Verge has learned. Zoph returned to OpenAI in mid-January after a stint as co-founder and CTO of Thinking Machines Lab, the competing AI company founded by former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati. Shortly after Zoph returned to OpenAI, the company said he would lead its push into enterprise — a significant role at OpenAI, since in recent m…

Barret Zoph is out at OpenAI again after just five months Five months after returning to OpenAI, Barret Zoph - the company's head of enterprise AI sales - has departed, The Verge has learned. Zoph returned to OpenAI in mid-January after a stint as co-founder and CTO of Thinking Machines Lab, the competing AI company founded by former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati. Shortly after Zoph returned […]

OpenAI Brings Back Barret Zoph to Lead Enterprise Sales OpenAI is making a decisive leadership change to reverse its declining market share in the crucial enterprise AI sector, bringing back a familiar executive to spearhead its push into business solutions. Barret Zoph has rejoined the company to lead its enterprise sales efforts, a strategic move as OpenAI looks to regain ground lost to rivals in 2026. Zoph, who previously served as vice president of post-training inference, returns after a brief stint as co-founder and CTO at a startup founded by former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati. This appointment comes as OpenAI faces significant competitive pressure. Despite launching its ChatGPT Enterprise product in 2023, its market share for enterprise large language model usage has plummeted from 50% to 27% by the end of 2025. In contrast, Anthropic has surged to a dominant 40% market share, while Google’s Gemini has maintained steady adoption since its enterprise launch last fall. This shift has reportedly concerned OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, with enterprise growth identified as a primary focus for the company in the coming year. Zoph’s return signals OpenAI’s urgent commitment to scaling its …