Mira Murati
Born 1988 · Age 37
Albanian-American engineer and business executive; former Chief Technology Officer of OpenAI and founder & CEO of Thinking Machines Lab.
Compare Your Trajectory
See how your career milestones stack up against Mira Murati and other industry leaders.
Life & Career Timeline
Born in Vlorë, Albania
Ermira 'Mira' Murati was born in Vlorë (then People's Socialist Republic of Albania).
Awarded UWC academic scholarship
Won a United World Colleges (UWC) academic scholarship to study at Pearson College in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.
Received International Baccalaureate (IB)
Graduated from Pearson College (UWC) with an International Baccalaureate diploma in 2005.
Graduated Colby College (BA in Mathematics)
Completed a Bachelor of Arts degree at Colby College (Colby Oracle 2011).
Graduated Dartmouth Thayer (BEng Mechanical Engineering)
Received a Bachelor of Engineering degree from the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth College.
Intern: Zodiac Aerospace
Briefly worked as an intern for Zodiac Aerospace before moving to roles in the automotive industry.
Reported Goldman Sachs internship (secondary source)
Some profiles list an internship at Goldman Sachs early in her career (contradictory reporting across sources).
Joined Tesla as Product Manager (Model X)
Joined Tesla in 2013 as a product manager working on the Model X (senior product management role on vehicle product).
Left Tesla (approx.)
Transitioned from Tesla to Leap Motion around 2016 after ~3 years at Tesla (approximate timing reported in profiles).
Joined Leap Motion (later Ultraleap)
Moved to the augmented reality start-up Leap Motion (now Ultraleap), serving in product & engineering leadership roles (2016–2018).
Joined OpenAI as VP of Applied AI & Partnerships
Joined OpenAI (June 2018) taking leadership of applied AI initiatives and partnerships.
Promoted to Senior VP Research, Product & Partnerships
Assumed a senior leadership role overseeing research, product, and partnerships (December 2020; per profiles).
Published 'Language & Coding Creativity' in Daedalus
Authored an article 'Language & Coding Creativity' in Daedalus (Vol. 151, No. 2), discussing AI and creativity (DOI:10.1162/daed_a_01907).
Named Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of OpenAI
Promoted to CTO of OpenAI in May 2022; oversaw research, product and safety teams and technical direction on major products.
ChatGPT public launch and rapid user growth
OpenAI launched the ChatGPT consumer product; within ~two months it reached ~100 million monthly active users (fastest-growing consumer app at the time).
GPT-4 release (major model milestone)
GPT-4 (larger model in the GPT series) launched March 14, 2023; Murati led work on GPT-series products as CTO.
Named to TIME100 Next
Included in TIME's '100 Next' class recognizing up-and-coming leaders (Time entry Sept 13, 2023).
Ranked #57 on Fortune's 'Most Powerful Women in Business' (2023)
Fortune ranked Murati #57 on its 2023 list of the 100 Most Powerful Women in Business.
Became interim CEO of OpenAI during management turmoil
Following Sam Altman's removal by OpenAI's board, Murati was named interim CEO (Nov 17, 2023) as leadership shuffled.
Emmett Shear appointed CEO (temporary) replacing Murati
Emmett Shear was named CEO ~three days after Altman's removal; Murati relinquished the interim CEO designation.
Sam Altman reinstated; Murati returned to CTO
Sam Altman was reinstated as OpenAI CEO; Murati returned to her CTO role after the board and management changes resolved.
Interviewed on The Daily Show (reported)
Dartmouth referenced Murati being interviewed on The Daily Show—major mainstream media appearance discussing AI and its societal impact.
Awarded Honorary Doctor of Science by Dartmouth
Dartmouth College awarded Murati an honorary Doctor of Science degree for contributions to technology and AI (June 9, 2024).
Announced stepping down as OpenAI CTO (tweeted resignation note)
Publicly announced on X (Twitter) that she was stepping down as CTO to 'do my own exploration' (Sept 25, 2024).
Officially stepped down as OpenAI CTO
Stepped down as Chief Technology Officer of OpenAI (announcement and departure reported Sept 25, 2024).
High-profile press and profiles
Multiple major outlets profiled Murati and her startup (Wired, Bloomberg, TechCrunch, Reuters, The Information) throughout early 2025 as Thinking Machines Lab scaled hires and fundraising.
Advisors and team named
Public reporting named team members and advisors involved with the company including John Schulman (cofounder of OpenAI) and advisors Alec Radford and Bob McGrew.
Featured profile in Wired
Long-form Wired profile on Murati and what she was working on (coverage Feb 10, 2025).
Founded Thinking Machines Lab (public benefit corporation)
Launched Thinking Machines Lab in February 2025, positioning it to build more understandable, customizable, and capable AI systems.
Early hires: poached ~20 researchers from competitors
Reuters and other outlets reported she hired roughly 20–30 leading researchers and engineers from competitors like Meta, Mistral, and OpenAI.
Bloomberg reports $9B valuation; average founder stake ~$1.4B
Bloomberg reported an estimated valuation of Thinking Machines Lab at $9 billion and an 'average founder stake value' reported at ~$1.4 billion.
Minimum investment requirement reported ($50M)
Reports indicated the seed round would require a minimum investment of $50 million per participant.
Thinking Machines Lab aims for a $2B seed round
Reportedly aimed for a very large $2 billion seed round, with a minimum investor commitment of $50 million.
Business Insider reports $50M min investor requirement
Business Insider reported on May 5, 2025 that potential investors would need to invest at least $50M to participate.
Albanian government participates; reported $10M contribution
Reports (RTSH and other outlets) said the government of Albania participated in the startup's financing with an investment reported at ~$10 million.
Governance structure gives Murati deciding vote
Reports described a governance structure where Murati holds a deciding (weighted) vote on board matters, giving her majority decision capability.
Reports of $12B valuation and Andreessen Horowitz-led seed
Later reporting (TechCrunch / The Information) indicated the round was led by Andreessen Horowitz, included Albania's participation, and valued Thinking Machines Lab at about $12 billion.
Key Achievement Ages
Explore what Mira Murati and others achieved at these notable ages:
Similar Trajectories
Ashish Chanchlani
Born 1993 · Age 32
Indian YouTuber, comedian, actor and director best known for the comedy channel 'Ashish Chanchlani Vines' and for viral parody videos, celebrity collaborations and festival awards.
KSI
Born 1993 · Age 32
Known professionally as KSI, an English YouTuber, influencer, musician, actor and professional boxer; co-founder of the Sidemen; CEO of Misfits Boxing; co-owner/investor in Prime Hydration, Lunchly and other businesses.
Marques Brownlee
Born 1993 · Age 32
American technology YouTuber (MKBHD), podcaster, influencer and professional ultimate frisbee player known for high-production product reviews, the Waveform podcast, media appearances and competitive frisbee achievements.
Yuya
Born 1993 · Age 32
Mexican beauty vlogger and YouTuber known as Yuya. Launched a popular makeup channel in 2009 and expanded into books, fragrance and cosmetics; notable for large subscriber base and participation in UN campaigns.
Prajakta Koli
Born 1993 · Age 32
Indian YouTuber, content creator and actress known as MostlySane; actor in Netflix's Mismatched and films including Jugjugg Jeeyo; activist and author active on social issues and climate.
Stani Kulechov
Born 1993 · Age 32
Finnish programmer, founder & CEO of Aave (originally ETHLend). DeFi pioneer, founder of Lens Protocol and Avara, active investor and mentor in Web3.