{"id":123422,"date":"2026-07-29T21:42:08","date_gmt":"2026-07-29T21:42:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/123422\/"},"modified":"2026-07-29T21:42:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T21:42:08","slug":"thinking-machines-co-founder-lilian-weng-left-the-company-citing-health-reasons-then-joined-openai","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/123422\/","title":{"rendered":"Thinking Machines co-founder Lilian Weng left the company citing health reasons, then joined OpenAI"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lilian Weng, co-founder of Thinking Machines<\/a>, announced this week that she would step down from her role, citing health issues.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t feel I\u2019m able to continue at the pace a startup requires,\u201d she wrote in an internal Slack message, which she also shared<\/a> on X. \u201cAfter thinking about it for several months, I ultimately have to admit that the amount of consistent stress and workload have pushed me beyond what my health can sustain physically.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, OpenAI told TechCrunch that Weng would be rejoining the company, where she previously served as the VP of AI Safety Research. <\/p>\n

According to a company spokesperson, Weng will lead a top-level team focused on accelerating OpenAI\u2019s internal research. This team will support cross-research work on recursive self-improvement, a process that would allow an AI system to iterate on itself to become more powerful.<\/p>\n

This move could be read as contradictory to Weng\u2019s statements about the impact of working at a fast-paced startup on her health \u2014 however, she likely won\u2019t face as much direct pressure while working at a company where she isn\u2019t a co-founder. Still, in a time of fierce competition for talent among AI labs, this high-profile departure is notable. <\/p>\n

Thinking Machines co-founder and former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati replied to Weng\u2019s X post earlier this week and expressed support<\/a> for her decision to focus on her health. It is unclear if Murati was aware that Weng would rejoin OpenAI.<\/p>\n

It is a hard and sad decision. I shared this message with folks at Thinky. Thank you all for the time together\u2665\ufe0f Just as the last sentence in my message: The future worth building is human. pic.twitter.com\/VGb5fM5chX<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Lilian Weng (@lilianweng) July 27, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll miss you, it\u2019s been wonderful building Thinky together. I\u2019m glad that you\u2019re putting your health first. Thank you for everything,\u201d Murati wrote in response to Weng\u2019s post. <\/p>\n