OpenAI’s Brain Drain

Welcome back. This week, we’re diving deep into the world of talent—specifically, the kind that walks out the door of a tech giant and builds empires. Let’s set the tone.

In 2023, OpenAI wasn’t just the new kid on the block—it was the block. ChatGPT redefined how the world saw AI, sparking a cultural and technological revolution. That moment will be etched in history as the dawn of mainstream AI. But with great success comes great distress.

For OpenAI, it’s meant a cash-burning circus, a legal tussle with Elon Musk, and, most critically, a mass exodus of its brightest minds.

Today, we’re not here to stir the pot on tech beef or pick sides in the Musk-Altman saga. Instead, we’re celebrating the renegades—OpenAI’s former stars who’ve left to launch ventures that are outpacing their old employer. We’ll also draw parallels to other tech legends who saw talent walk away and build game-changing companies.

Buckle up, team—it’s time to bet on the builders.

Open AI’s Mass Exodus

OpenAI didn’t just place big bets on AI research—it built a brain trust of galaxy-level geniuses. But now, with a $40B funding round and a cash burn that’d make a WeWork Ibiza rave blush (pro tip: it’s i-bee-tha), the company’s talent is scattering.

The result? AI ventures so spicy they’re rewriting the future.

Here’s the 411:

Mira Murati’s Thinking Machines Lab

• OpenAI’s former CTO, Mira Murati, waved “peace out” in 2024 to launch Thinking Machines Lab. No product, no revenue, yet she’s reportedly chasing a jaw-dropping $2B seed round. Is it bold? Absolutely. Crazy? Possibly. Genius? The jury’s out, but Murati’s track record suggests she’s not here to play small. Her vision for AI could redefine the field—if she pulls it off.

Ilya Sutskever’s Safe Superintelligence

• OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever parted ways to focus on safety-first AI with Safe Superintelligence. No product yet, but he’s already secured $2B at a $32B valuation, backed by heavyweights like Alphabet, Nvidia, and Greenoaks. Sutskever’s mission to build AGI without compromising safety is a direct jab at OpenAI’s pivot to commercialization. No chill, all ambition.

Dario and Daniela Amodei’s Anthropic

• The Amodei siblings, alongside other OpenAI defectors, founded Anthropic in 2021. They’re playing 4D chess while OpenAI’s stuck on checkers. With strategic partnerships like Amazon and Alexa, Anthropic’s Claude model is giving ChatGPT a run for its money. Valued at $18.4B as of early 2025, Anthropic proves ex-founders don’t just compete—they dominate.

Mistral AI’s French Revolution

• Arthur Mensch, Timothée Lacroix, and Guillaume Lample, hailing from Meta AI and Google DeepMind (Not hailing from OpenAI...But Still AI), launched Mistral AI in 2023. Now valued at $6B, Mistral is the party OpenAI wishes it was invited to. Their open-source approach and lean operation are shaking up the AI landscape, proving you don’t need OpenAI’s budget to make waves.

This isn’t just OpenAI losing a few nerds—it’s a tectonic shift in AI’s future.

These ex-founders aren’t messing around; they’re crafting intelligent systems that’ll make your Roomba look like a wind-up toy.

But hold up—this runaway talent show isn’t new. Let’s rewind the VHS.

Not a New Model: When Talent Bolts, Empires Rise

Picture this: it’s 1985, and Steve Jobs gets the boot from Apple, the scrappy empire he built in a garage. Ouch. But does he sulk? Nope. He launches NeXT to chase tech so fancy it’s basically sci-fi.

The hardware tanks harder than a bad rom-com, but its software becomes the spine of macOS, and a quirky side hustle—snagging a graphics crew from Lucasfilm—spawns Pixar, the animation juggernaut behind Toy Story. Messy? Sure. Epic? You bet. It’s proof that when talent gets the boot, they don’t just bounce—they build dynasties.

The story of ex-founders turning their know-how into world-shaking companies is tech’s oldest mixtape. OpenAI’s deserters are just the latest to remix it:

WhatsApp’s Billion-User Bet

• Brian Acton and Jan Koum left Yahoo in 2007, frustrated by its stagnation. Two years later, they co-founded WhatsApp, a messaging app that exploded to 1B users. In 2014, Facebook shelled out $19.3B to acquire it. Lesson? The best don’t stick around for someone else’s victory lap—they build their own.

Nest Labs’ Smart Home Domination

• Tony Fadell, the “godfather of the iPod,” left Apple in 2008 to launch Nest Labs. His Nest Thermostat revolutionized the smart home, catching Google’s eye for a cool $3.2B in 2014. Fadell didn’t just innovate; he redefined how we interact with our homes.

These renegades share one vibe: they’re forged in the crucible of high-stakes tech, then break free to build bigger, badder, and bolder. OpenAI’s escapees are rocking the same energy, ditching the corporate grind to birth products, companies, and whole freakin’ industries.

Going Public: Celebrating the Renegades

At Going Public, we’re low-key obsessed with the hustlers, dreamers, and doers who laugh in the face of “impossible.”

Our series trails founders on their wild capital-raising quests, serving up raw, unfiltered drama—and letting you Click-to-Invest mid-binge.

Season 3, dropping Spring 2025 on 𝕏, cranks it to 11 with startups like Nutcase, Employer.com, and Ominico Golf stealing the spotlight.

Ready? Join the conversation.

Signing off…

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