Сооснователь Thinking Machines Lab Лилиан Вэн ушла из стартапа и вернулась в OpenAI
Лилиан Вэн, сооснователь стартапа Thinking Machines Lab, который основала бывший технический директор OpenAI Мира Мурати, покинула компанию, сославшись на здоровье, и почти сразу перешла в OpenAI. Именно там она работала раньше — возглавляла исследования безопасности ИИ в статусе вице-президента.
AI-processed from TechCrunch; edited by Hamidun News
Lilian Weng, co-founder of AI startup Thinking Machines Lab, left the company on July 29, 2026, citing health issues, and immediately afterward moved to OpenAI — where she had previously held the position of VP of AI Safety Research.
What happened
Lilian Weng left Thinking Machines Lab for health reasons and almost simultaneously announced her move to OpenAI — TechCrunch reported this on July 29, 2026. For her, this is a return: she spent a significant part of her career at OpenAI before joining the startup.
- Date of the event — July 29, 2026
- Reason for leaving Thinking Machines Lab — health issues
- New (and former) employer — OpenAI
- Previous role at OpenAI — VP of AI Safety Research
- Thinking Machines Lab was founded in 2025 by former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati
Why this matters for Murati's startup
Thinking Machines Lab is a company founded in 2025 by former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati, who assembled a team that included former OpenAI researchers. The startup positioned itself as a research lab focused on more open and customizable model development.
The departure of one of the co-founders less than a year and a half after launch is a notable personnel loss for a young lab that is still building its product and reputation. Weng was one of the most recognizable names on its team, so her departure and return to her former employer drew heightened attention from the industry.
Who is Lilian Weng
Lilian Weng is an AI researcher who worked at OpenAI starting in 2018, where she led teams focused on applied research and safety and rose to become VP of AI Safety Research. In engineering circles she is known primarily for her technical blog lilianweng.github.io, where she goes in depth on the inner workings of language models, reinforcement learning, and safety issues.
For OpenAI, her return strengthens the safety team at a time when competition for researchers of this profile between labs remains extremely high.
Weng left
Thinking Machines Lab, citing health issues, after which she joined OpenAI — as TechCrunch reports.
What this means
The moves of leading researchers between OpenAI and new labs like Thinking Machines Lab show just how narrow and fluid the market for AI safety specialists is: the same people circulate between a handful of centers of power, and any reshuffle immediately becomes industry news.
Frequently asked questions
Why did Lilian Weng leave Thinking Machines Lab?
The official reason is health issues. According to TechCrunch, this is what Weng herself cited when announcing her departure from the startup on July 29, 2026.
Where did Lilian Weng move to?
To OpenAI. For her, this is a return: before working at Thinking Machines Lab, she already held the position of VP of AI Safety Research at OpenAI.
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