Thinking Machines co-founder Lilian Weng left the company citing health reasons, then joined OpenAI
Lilian Weng has stepped down as co-founder of Thinking Machines, citing health reasons, and has rejoined OpenAI to lead a research team focused on recursive self-improvement. The move highlights the intense competition for top-tier AI talent.
Why it matters
Weng's return to OpenAI is significant for the company's AI safety and research trajectory, while also underscoring the high-pressure environment of the AI startup ecosystem.
Lilian Weng, co-founder of Thinking Machines , announced this week that she would step down from her role, citing health issues.
“I don’t feel I’m able to continue at the pace a startup requires,” she wrote in an internal Slack message, which she also shared on X. “After 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.”
On Wednesday, OpenAI told TechCrunch that Weng would be rejoining the company, where she previously served as the VP of AI Safety Research.
According to a company spokesperson, Weng will lead a top-level team focused on accelerating OpenAI’s 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.
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