Mira Murati: From OpenAI’s Quiet Builder to Founder of Thinking Machines Lab

Mira Murati did not step into the AI world through the typical route.

Her story begins in Albania during a period of economic instability, a place where technology was limited and curiosity required creativity.

She has described herself as the kind of child who took apart radios and appliances just to put them back together again. That mix of discipline and resourcefulness eventually carried her to Canada, where she studied mechanical engineering at Dartmouth.

Engineering became her gateway into the future.

Before the rest of the world knew her name, she developed a reputation for solving hard problems at the intersection of hardware and software. At Tesla she worked on the Model X program.

Later, at Leap Motion, she worked on systems that tried to bridge the gap between human hands and digital environments.

These experiences shaped her belief that technology should serve people in intuitive and humane ways.

The Path to OpenAI

Mira joined OpenAI in 2018 and quickly became one of the organization’s most influential leaders. She was not just a technical expert.

She had an unusual ability to translate complex research into products people could actually use.

That made her central to the development of ChatGPT, DALL E, and several early reinforcement learning systems that shaped GPT models.

Her rise to Chief Technology Officer reflected that blend of engineering depth and product leadership.

As CTO she oversaw research, safety teams, and the applied product divisions during a period when OpenAI went from a research lab known only in tech circles to a global household name.

The month the world learned her name

In November 2023 the OpenAI board suddenly removed CEO Sam Altman.

For a short and chaotic window, responsibility for stabilizing one of the world’s most powerful AI labs fell directly to Mira Murati.

She served as interim CEO and represented the company publicly, showing a calm and steady presence during one of the industry’s most dramatic governance moments.

Although Altman returned soon after, this event brought Mira into the global spotlight.

It made the world realize that she was not simply a behind the scenes builder. She was a thoughtful leader with a strong point of view about where AI should go next.

The decision to build something new

After leaving OpenAI in 2024, Mira began forming her own vision for what the next generation of AI companies should look like.

She believed that frontier AI should be more accessible, more understandable, and more customizable for individuals and smaller teams.

She also saw the friction in trying to build useful products on top of large models that were locked behind big-lab systems.

That insight became the foundation for her new company.

Thinking Machines Lab: Building Human Scale AI

Thinking Machines Lab launched in February 2025 with a mission that is both ambitious and practical.

The company describes its goal as making AI systems more widely understood, more flexible, and more capable across science, programming, and real world problem solving.

In an industry dominated by giant labs, Mira is building something different. Thinking Machines Lab focuses on human and team level AI rather than corporate scale AI. Their work so far includes:

• Research on model intelligence that can be applied by individuals, researchers, and small organizations
• Infrastructure that makes advanced models easier to modify and fine tune
• Tools that help people adapt AI systems to their own needs rather than relying on one size fits all services

One of their first products, called Tinker, allows developers and researchers to fine tune large models with far less infrastructure or expense.

It offers the kind of customization that previously required a full engineering team. Mira’s long term vision is a world where people can build AI that fits their own goals the same way they choose software tools today.

A new kind of AI company

Within months of launching, Thinking Machines Lab raised around two billion dollars in funding at a valuation reportedly near twelve billion.

Mira recruited top researchers and engineers from major AI labs, including OpenAI, who support her belief that the next frontier is not just bigger models.

It is models that are more aligned with human needs, more transparent, and more adaptable.

The company also commits to publishing research, model specifications, and tools that can be used by others, a signal that Mira wants to foster an ecosystem rather than a closed empire.

Why her story matters today

Mira Murati’s path from Albania to Dartmouth to Tesla to OpenAI and now founder of her own lab illustrates something powerful.

The future of AI is not shaped only by charismatic CEOs or large corporate platforms. It is shaped by builders who understand the technology deeply and care about how it integrates with the daily lives of real people.

Her new company reflects that philosophy.

Thinking Machines Lab is betting on a world where advanced AI is not just something you consume.

It is something you shape, adapt, and use to solve the problems that matter to you.

For entrepreneurs, creators, and the everyday builders in your audience, Mira’s move signals a shift in the AI landscape.

The tools that were once locked away inside giant labs are beginning to become accessible at a human scale.

That has the potential to transform businesses, workflows, and creative projects across every field.