Mira Murati, OpenAI's CEO, adds a global Indian spark to the lineup

Mira Murati, a 34-year-old former Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of OpenAI, has been appointed as the interim CEO of the company following the abrupt departure of Sam Altman. Murati played a crucial role in developing OpenAI's innovative products, including ChatGPT and DALL-E. Born and raised in Albania, she moved to Canada at the age of 16 to attend Pearson College UWC and later pursued mechanical engineering at Dartmouth College in the United States. During her undergraduate years, she gained recognition for building a hybrid race car for her senior project.

Mira Murati, CEO at OpenAI, has ties to India as her parents are reported to be of Indian descent. Born in San Francisco in 1988, she was raised in the United States. Prior to her role at OpenAI, Murati served as a Senior Product Manager at Tesla. She earned her Bachelor of Engineering degree from The Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth.

Murati commenced her professional journey as an intern at Goldman Sachs and Zodiac Aerospace. Subsequently, she spent three years at Tesla, contributing to the development of the Model X. In 2016, Murati joined Leap Motion, a sensor-building startup, as VP of product and engineering. Two years later, she transitioned to OpenAI, initially serving as VP of applied AI and partnerships.

In a Wired interview in July 2023, Murati expressed her belief in the significance of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) and her desire to be at the forefront of its development. She highlighted her experiences applying AI in real-world scenarios, both at Tesla and Leap Motion.

Murati's involvement with OpenAI began in 2018, where she initially worked on supercomputing. In 2022, she was promoted to the position of Chief Technology Officer. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella praised Murati's ability to assemble teams with technical expertise, commercial acumen, and a deep commitment to the mission. According to Nadella, Murati has played a key role in building some of the most exciting AI technologies.

As the new interim CEO of OpenAI, Murati is expected to guide the company through its ongoing operations, leveraging her experience and expertise in the field of artificial intelligence.