Mira Murati opens up about her new AI venture and the future of Artificial Intelligence

After spending nearly 18 months quietly building a next-generation artificial intelligence company, Mira Murati has finally stepped

After spending nearly 18 months quietly building a next-generation artificial intelligence company, Mira Murati has finally stepped into the public spotlight. During her first major media interview since departing OpenAI, Murati spoke with Bloomberg in San Francisco about her new venture, Thinking Machines Lab, and shared her vision for the future of AI development.

Murati provided a glimpse into the company’s latest work, introducing what Thinking Machines Lab refers to as “interaction models.” Unlike traditional AI systems that rely on users entering prompts and receiving responses, these models are designed to process multiple forms of information simultaneously. The technology can rapidly handle audio, text, and video streams in small 200-millisecond segments, enabling more dynamic and natural interactions.

However, Murati emphasized that the demonstration represented only an early stage of development rather than a finished product. The company did not reveal any plans regarding a commercial release or launch timeline. The only publicly available offering announced so far is Tinker, an application programming interface (API) that allows developers to customize and fine-tune open-source AI models for their own purposes.

The interview also revisited one of the most dramatic moments in the AI industry’s recent history. In November 2023, OpenAI’s board unexpectedly removed CEO Sam Altman from his position, triggering a leadership crisis that employees later referred to as “the blip.” During that period, Murati temporarily assumed the role of interim CEO.

Reflecting on those events, Murati explained that her actions at the time were guided by a desire to protect both the organization’s mission and its employees. She said the decisions she made felt clear and necessary in the moment, despite the uncertainty surrounding the situation.

Murati argued that her involvement played a crucial role in preventing OpenAI from falling apart during the five-day crisis. At the same time, she acknowledged that she did not have complete certainty about every aspect of what was happening behind the scenes. Looking back, she believes she should have pushed harder for additional information, greater transparency, and a more orderly transition process.

When asked whether she still trusts Altman, Murati chose not to provide a direct answer. Instead, she shifted the conversation toward a broader concern about the AI industry. According to her, the central issue is not the personalities of individual leaders but the concentration of power and decision-making authority in the hands of a small number of people. She stressed the importance of creating stronger institutional safeguards and accountability mechanisms rather than relying solely on the judgment or integrity of individuals.

Murati was also questioned about the recent departures of several high-profile researchers from Thinking Machines Lab. While she had previously avoided discussing the matter publicly, she described the situation as a natural consequence of building a startup from the ground up. In her view, the rapid pace of growth often compresses years of organizational change into a much shorter timeframe.

Addressing concerns about AI-related risks, including job displacement, autonomous weapons, and broader societal impacts, Murati rejected both extreme optimism and catastrophic predictions. She expressed confidence that humanity still has significant influence over how the technology evolves. Rather than viewing the future as predetermined, she believes people, institutions, and policymakers can actively shape AI development in ways that maximize benefits while reducing potential harms.