From OpenAI to Independent Vision: A New Chapter Begins
Mira Murati, the former CTO of OpenAI, is making headlines again—this time by founding her own AI venture, Thinking Machines Lab. With a growing team of some of the most brilliant minds in artificial intelligence, Murati is setting her sights on building AI systems that are not just powerful but personal, customizable, and widely understood.
The venture has already attracted over $100 million in funding and is quietly positioning itself as one of the most closely watched startups of 2025.
Meet the All-Star Cast Behind the Vision
What’s grabbing everyone’s attention is not just the vision, but the team behind it. Murati has brought together former OpenAI and DeepMind talent, many of whom were instrumental in creating the foundational technologies powering today’s generative AI.
Among the notable recruits:
- Alec Radford, the mind behind GPT, Whisper, and DALL·E, who helped build the models that power ChatGPT and AI art generators
- Bob McGrew, OpenAI’s former Chief Research Officer, who led the company’s research from 2018 to 2024
- John Schulman, OpenAI Co-founder, now serving as Chief Scientist
- Barret Zoph, former OpenAI lead for model post-training, now Chief Technology Officer at Thinking Machines Lab
This dream team brings deep technical expertise and a shared belief: AI should empower, not overwhelm.
Why Thinking Machines Isn’t Just Another AI Lab
While the company remains in stealth mode, early signals suggest a strong focus on user-first design and deeply customizable AI tools. Rather than building yet another large language model, the lab aims to create systems that adapt to individual users, workflows, and creative needs—offering control, clarity, and joy.
The mission? To make AI more accessible, transparent, and tailored—a radical shift from the often closed and monolithic nature of today’s foundation models.
Big Money, Bold Moves
The buzz surrounding Thinking Machines Lab isn’t just about talent. The venture has reportedly raised more than $100 million in its early stages, a sign of strong investor confidence in
Murati’s leadership and vision. This puts the lab in a powerful position to experiment, scale quickly, and bring something truly new to the market.
A Quiet Revolution Worth Watching
While the public-facing details remain limited, the momentum is undeniable. In an era of flashy model releases and AI hype cycles, Thinking Machines Lab is choosing focus over fanfare, substance over spectacle.
For those following the evolution of AI, this is a startup to keep an eye on. With its founding team’s track record and a mission centered around real-world usability, Thinking Machines Lab could very well redefine what it means to interact with intelligent systems.
As Murati and her team build behind the scenes, the AI world watches—and waits.