Who is Mira Murati? Ex-OpenAI CTO turns down Meta’s $1 billion offer

Albanian-American tech visionary Mira Murati, who was behind some of the most significant breakthroughs in artificial intelligence (AI), is among a growing list of former executives from OpenAI who have launched AI startups.

As per a report by Wired, Mira Murati's AI startup, Thinking Machines Lab's team members were offered packages that ranged between $200 and $1 billion — every single one of which was reportedly rejected as employees refused to join the Meta Superintelligence Lab.

In a tech industry where massive paydays often drive decisions, the loyalty displayed by Murati’s team stands out.

According to reports, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg offered $ 1 billion to Murati to sell her company.

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Who is Mira Murati?

Murati, a trailblazer in the advancement of AI, was born in Albania in 1988.

At the age of 16, Murati received a scholarship to attend high school at Pearson United World College of the Pacific on Vancouver Island, British Columbia.

After finishing the International Baccalaureate programme, she pursued a dual academic path: a Bachelor of Arts at Colby College in the US and a Bachelor of Engineering from Dartmouth College's Thayer School of Engineering (US).

Early career

After completing her education, Murati started her career at Zodiac Aerospace, then moved to Tesla where she worked on the Model X as a senior product manager.

But her interest soon shifted toward artificial intelligence and human-computer interaction, leading her to Leap Motion, a company focused on augmented reality.

She Joined OpenAI in 2018 as Vice President of Applied AI and Partnerships. There, she quickly rose through the ranks to become Chief Technology Officer (CTO).

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Stint at OpenAI

At OpenAI, she led the development of transformative AI models such as ChatGPT, DALL-E, and Codex — technologies that have transformed the world.

She also oversaw OpenAI's deployment of safety protocols that became foundational to industry-wide AI governance frameworks.

Her work helped bring generative AI into the mainstream, sparking a global wave of innovation across industries from education and healthcare to design and coding.

Murati also became the CEO of OpenAI for three days after Sam Altman was removed from the post following a boardroom drama at the company. He was reinstated five days later, following which Murati returned to her role as CTO of OpenAI.

Blending tech and ethics

At OpenAI, she emphasised the importance of safety, alignment, and responsible development, pushing the organisation to think deeply about the societal impact of powerful AI systems.

She was instrumental in assembling the original alignment teams, ensuring ethical considerations were baked into product design from the earliest stages.

Murati once remarked, “We don’t just code intelligence — we craft responsibility,” a phrase that has since become a rallying cry for ethical AI development.

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Visionary startup

Her combination of engineering precision and human-centered thinking set the stage for her next bold move: founding her own AI company.

Founded in February 2025, Thinking Machines Lab has rapidly emerged as one of the most-watched AI startups. It is an AI public benefit startup that aims to build general-purpose, accessible and ethical AI systems.

Despite not launching a single product yet, the company recently raised $2 billion in seed funding by July — the largest seed round in tech history — at a $12 billion valuation.

Global recognition

In early 2025, she delivered a keynote at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, warning that “AI without values is intelligence without conscience,” sparking international dialogue on AI ethics and sovereignty.

She’s also been advising the European Commission on emerging AI regulatory frameworks, a rare role for a startup founder.

Murati’s leadership has also been recognised worldwide — she was named in Time’s '100 Most Influential People in AI' (2024) and Fortune’s '100 Most Powerful Women in Business' (2023).