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Lilian Weng departs Thinking Machines due to health, rejoins OpenAI to lead research team
Key points
- Lilian Weng left Thinking Machines due to health concerns.
- She previously served as VP of AI Safety Research at OpenAI.
- Weng will lead a new team at OpenAI focused on internal research acceleration.
- The team will work on recursive self-improvement in AI systems.
Departure from Thinking Machines
Lilian Weng, a co-founder of Thinking Machines, announced her resignation from the company this week. Weng cited health issues and the unsustainable workload of a startup as reasons for her departure, communicating her decision via an internal Slack message and on X.
Return to OpenAI
Following her departure from Thinking Machines, OpenAI confirmed that Weng would be rejoining the company. Weng previously held the position of VP of AI Safety Research at OpenAI.
New Role and Focus
At OpenAI, Weng will lead a new, top-level team dedicated to accelerating the company's internal research efforts. This team's primary focus will be on cross-research work related to recursive self-improvement, a process designed to enable AI systems to iterate and enhance their own capabilities.
Industry Context
Weng's move is notable within the competitive landscape of AI talent. Her former co-founder at Thinking Machines, Mira Murati, who is also OpenAI's CTO, expressed support for Weng's decision to prioritize her health, though it was not clear if Murati was aware of Weng's plans to rejoin OpenAI.
✨ This summary was generated by AI from the outlets' reporting listed below. It is not independently verified and may contain errors — check the original sources. How BrevFeed works →
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Reporting from
Lilian Weng, co-founder of Thinking Machines, resigned from her role citing health issues and the demanding pace of startup work. She has subsequently rejoined OpenAI, where she will lead a team focused on accelerating internal research, specifically on recursive self-improvement.