Mira Murati’s startup Thinking Machines Lab announced on Jan. 14, 2026 that co-founder and CTO Barret Zoph had parted ways and named Soumith Chintala its new CTO; 58 minutes later OpenAI’s Fidji Simo confirmed that Zoph, co-founder Luke Metz and co-founder Sam Schoenholz would rejoin OpenAI. The startup raised a $2 billion seed round in July, valuing it at $12 billion.
Key Points
- 1Announces Barret Zoph exit and names Soumith Chintala as Thinking Machines' new CTO.
- 2Signals rapid returns as Zoph, Luke Metz and Sam Schoenholz rejoin OpenAI.
- 3Creates governance and talent risks for the $12 billion startup after $2 billion seed.
Scoring Rationale
Direct executive announcements and credible reporting drive a high score, tempered by limited technical novelty and confined operational impact.
Sources
Public references used for this report.
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