Thinking Machines Lab cofounder Lilian Weng steps down, citing startup-related stress and illness

Lilian Weng said she didn't feel able to continue working at the "pace a startup requires." Jaque Silva/NurPhoto via Getty Images A Thinking Machines Lab cofounder said she's stepping down after months of illness and stress. "I don't feel I'm able to continue at the pace a startup requires," Lilian Weng said. Her exit follows health-related step-backs by OpenAI's Fidji Simo and xAI's Greg Yang. A cofounder of Thinking Machines Lab said she's stepping down because of stress and illness. Lilian Weng said in a post on X that Tuesday would be her last day at Thinking Machines Lab, the AI startup she cofounded with OpenAI's former chief technology officer, Mira Murati . Weng, previously OpenAI's vice president of research and safety, said she had been ill more often in the past seven months than at any other point in her life. She did not disclose a specific diagnosis.