OpenAI’s Sora AI tool provides users with the ability to generate videos from text-based inputs, according to Costfoto via Nurphoto and Getty Images.
OpenAI’s Chief Financial Officer, Sarah Friar, has reassured investors regarding the startup’s robust position amidst the recent departure of several key executives. Despite these changes, Friar emphasized that the company is on track to close a significant funding round soon.
In an email to investors, Friar addressed the departure of Chief Technology Officer Mira Murati, who announced her resignation on Wednesday. Following her departure, Sam Altman revealed that top research executives Bob McGrew and Barret Zoph were also leaving the company.
Friar’s email, obtained by CNBC, aimed to provide context and maintain investor confidence. She acknowledged that while leadership transitions can be challenging, OpenAI remains strong with a talented leadership team poised to continue competing effectively. Friar expressed pride in Murati’s contributions and highlighted the organization’s capacity to move forward.
OpenAI, which receives backing from Microsoft and recently partnered with Apple on AI for iPhones, is in the process of finalizing a $6.5 billion funding round. This funding round is expected to value the company at around $150 billion, sources indicated. Thrive Capital is leading this round, planning an investment of $1 billion.
In the email, Friar mentioned the round was oversubscribed and anticipated its closure by the following week. She also noted that the team would host calls with investors to introduce key leaders from product and research teams. Friar reiterated the company’s commitment to broadening AI accessibility and fostering sustainable revenue models.
OpenAI declined to comment on the email’s details.
Mira Murati’s departure follows her six-and-a-half-year tenure at OpenAI. She briefly served as interim CEO last year after the board unexpectedly terminated Altman, who was later reinstated, leading Murati to return to her role as CTO.
The company has already experienced notable departures, including co-founder John Schulman and safety chief Jan Leike, who joined competitor Anthropic. Co-founder Ilya Sutskever left to start a new AI firm, and another co-founder, Greg Brockman, is currently on leave.
To address these changes, Friar announced that Mark Chen would step into the senior vice president of research role, while leaders such as Kevin Weil from Meta and Srinivas Narayanan were identified as key figures to drive innovation forward.
Sarah Friar, who previously served as CEO of Nextdoor and CFO of Block (formerly Square), took on the CFO role at OpenAI.
Additionally, during an all-hands meeting, Sam Altman refuted claims about receiving a “giant equity stake” in the company, describing such reports as untrue. Both Altman and Friar addressed investor concerns regarding Altman’s lack of equity in the nearly nine-year-old company, according to a participant in the meeting.
The report concludes with a link to a video discussing the recent departures of Sam Altman’s top deputies.