Mira Murati
| Personal Details | |
|---|---|
| Born | 16 December 1988 Vlorë, Albania |
| Nationality | Albanian-American |
| Career & Education | |
| Occupation | Technology Executive, Entrepreneur, Engineer |
| Education | Colby College; Dartmouth College |
| Alma Mater | Colby College; Dartmouth College |
| Institution | Thinking Machines Lab |
| Known For | Co-founding and leading Thinking Machines Lab; former Chief Technology Officer of OpenAI |
| Years Active | 2012–present |
| Recognition & Links | |
| Website | Official Website |
Mira Murati (born 16 December 1988) is an Albanian-American technology executive, engineer, and artificial intelligence entrepreneur. She is the co-founder and chief executive officer of Thinking Machines Lab, an artificial intelligence research and product company focused on developing customizable and collaborative AI systems. She previously served as chief technology officer of OpenAI, where she held senior responsibilities across research, product development, and AI deployment. [1]
Murati became widely known for her leadership role at OpenAI and her involvement with the development and deployment of AI products including ChatGPT and DALL-E. She also served briefly as OpenAI's interim chief executive officer in November 2023 during a leadership transition. [2]
Early life and education
Murati was born in Vlorë, Albania, in 1988. During her teenage years, she received a scholarship to attend Pearson College UWC in Canada. She later pursued higher education in the United States through a dual-degree program involving Colby College and Dartmouth College's Thayer School of Engineering.
She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Colby College and a Bachelor of Engineering degree in mechanical engineering from Dartmouth College. Her engineering education provided a foundation for her later work in technology, product development, and artificial intelligence. [3]
Early career
After completing her education, Murati worked in engineering and product-related roles before entering the artificial intelligence industry.
She worked at Tesla, Inc., where she was involved in vehicle product development, including work associated with the Tesla Model X. Her experience at Tesla exposed her to advanced vehicle technologies and helped shape her interest in artificial intelligence and machine learning. [4]
Murati subsequently joined Leap Motion, where she worked on product and engineering activities involving human-computer interaction and spatial computing technologies.
OpenAI
Murati joined OpenAI in 2018. During her time at the company, she held several leadership responsibilities across product development, research, partnerships, and deployment.
In 2022, OpenAI appointed Murati as chief technology officer. In that role, she was responsible for major areas of the company's technical and product organization. OpenAI stated that she had led research, product, and partnership functions before taking the CTO position. [5]
As CTO, Murati became one of the company's most prominent public representatives during the rapid development of generative artificial intelligence. Her responsibilities included research, product development, deployment, and technology strategy.
OpenAI's documentation also credits Murati among the contributors to work associated with GPT-4. [6]
Interim chief executive officer of OpenAI
In November 2023, OpenAI's board appointed Murati interim chief executive officer following the departure of Sam Altman.
OpenAI stated that Murati had been part of the company's leadership team for five years and had experience across research, product, safety, operations, and AI governance. She subsequently returned to her role as chief technology officer after Altman returned as chief executive officer. [7][8]
Departure from OpenAI
Murati left OpenAI in September 2024 after serving as the company's chief technology officer. Her departure followed several years in which she held senior positions during the development and commercialization of generative AI products.
Her period at OpenAI coincided with the expansion of products and technologies including large language models, image-generation systems, and other generative AI applications.
Thinking Machines Lab
In 2025, Murati launched Thinking Machines Lab, an artificial intelligence research and product company based in San Francisco, California. She serves as the company's co-founder and chief executive officer.
Thinking Machines Lab describes its mission as developing AI systems that are more understandable, customizable, and generally capable. The company focuses on human-AI collaboration and on enabling users and organizations to adapt AI systems to their particular needs. [9]
The company has developed tools and models intended to make advanced AI systems more customizable. Its work includes research into interaction models that allow AI systems to continuously process audio, video, and text and respond in real time. [10]
In 2026, Thinking Machines Lab announced an open-weights AI model called Inkling and continued developing technologies for AI customization and human-AI collaboration. [11]
Artificial intelligence work
Murati's career has focused on the development and deployment of artificial intelligence systems, with an emphasis on connecting technical research with products used by individuals and organizations.
At OpenAI, her responsibilities included research and product development as the company expanded its work in large-scale AI systems. At Thinking Machines Lab, her work has focused on AI systems designed to be customizable and collaborative rather than limited to fixed interactions.
The company has stated that its research aims to make advanced AI systems more accessible to researchers and developers while improving understanding of how such systems are trained and used. [12]
Leadership and public profile
Murati has become a prominent figure in the artificial intelligence industry through her roles at OpenAI and Thinking Machines Lab. Her career spans mechanical engineering, product development, artificial intelligence research, technology management, and entrepreneurship.
Her leadership experience includes work across engineering teams, AI research organizations, product development, and the deployment of machine-learning systems. She has also spoken publicly about AI development, product design, safety, and the relationship between humans and artificial intelligence.
See also
- Artificial intelligence
- OpenAI
- Thinking Machines Lab
- ChatGPT
- DALL-E
- GPT-4
- Machine learning
- Generative artificial intelligence
- Tesla, Inc.
- Dartmouth College
- Colby College
References
- ↑ "Thinking Machines Lab". Thinking Machines Lab.
- ↑ "OpenAI announces leadership transition". OpenAI. 17 November 2023.
- ↑ "2024 Investiture to Feature Purdue President and OpenAI CTO". Dartmouth Engineering.
- ↑ "2024 Investiture to Feature Purdue President and OpenAI CTO". Dartmouth Engineering.
- ↑ "OpenAI leadership team update". OpenAI. 5 May 2022.
- ↑ "GPT-4 contributions". OpenAI.
- ↑ "OpenAI announces leadership transition". OpenAI. 17 November 2023.
- ↑ "Sam Altman returns as CEO, OpenAI has a new initial board". OpenAI. 29 November 2023.
- ↑ "Thinking Machines Lab". Thinking Machines Lab.
- ↑ "Interaction Models: A Scalable Approach to Human-AI Collaboration". Thinking Machines Lab. 11 May 2026.
- ↑ "Inkling: Our Open-Weights Model". Thinking Machines Lab. 15 July 2026.
- ↑ "The Future Worth Building Is Human". Thinking Machines Lab. 10 July 2026.