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Leadership Turmoil at Thinking Machines: Co-Founders Exit Amid Controversy

1/16/2026

Summary

Story summary

Thinking Machines Lab undergoes leadership changes as co-founders Barret Zoph and Luke Metz, along with employee Sam Schoenholz, return to OpenAI.
Mira Murati announced Barret Zoph's departure and named Soumith Chintala as the new CTO.
Reports suggest Barret Zoph was fired for unethical conduct, raising questions about the exit.
This follows Andrew Tulloch's earlier departure to Meta, and Thinking Machines remains in early stages despite substantial investment.

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Story summary

Thinking Machines Lab undergoes leadership changes as co-founders Barret Zoph and Luke Metz, along with employee Sam Schoenholz, return to OpenAI.
Mira Murati announced Barret Zoph's departure and named Soumith Chintala as the new CTO.
Reports suggest Barret Zoph was fired for unethical conduct, raising questions about the exit.
This follows Andrew Tulloch's earlier departure to Meta, and Thinking Machines remains in early stages despite substantial investment.