Mira Murati has emerged as one of the most influential figures in artificial intelligence – a visionary leader who has shattered glass ceilings and is now charting new frontiers in tech. Best known for her role as Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at OpenAI, Murati recently made headlines by spearheading a record-breaking $2 billion fundraise for her new AI venture. This monumental funding – among the largest seed rounds in Silicon Valley history – underscores Murati’s formidable leadership and innovation. More importantly, her journey from an Albanian-born engineering student to the helm of a multi-billion-dollar AI startup carries profound implications for women in tech, especially in the fast-evolving world of AI.
In this article, we delve into Murati’s inspiring profile: her background and rise to CTO at OpenAI, the details behind the recent $2B fundraising she led, her leadership style and contributions to cutting-edge AI, and why her story is a beacon for diverse leadership in technology.
Rise of a Trailblazer: Murati’s Journey to OpenAI CTO
Born in Vlorë, Albania in 1988, Mira Murati moved abroad as a teenager to pursue her education. She earned degrees in engineering from Colby College and Dartmouth College, then began building a career at the intersection of innovation and product development. In her early roles, Murati worked on the Tesla Model X program and led product teams at Leap Motion, honing a unique blend of engineering and management skills. This foundation set the stage for what would become a meteoric rise in the AI industry.
Murati joined the research lab OpenAI in 2018 and quickly ascended through the ranks. By May 2022, at just 33 years old, she was promoted to Chief Technology Officer, becoming one of the few women to ever hold such a high technical leadership role in AI. As CTO, Murati oversaw OpenAI’s most groundbreaking projects – she led the development of transformative AI systems like ChatGPT, the DALL·E image generator, and the GPT series of language models. Under her guidance, ChatGPT became a global phenomenon, showcasing astonishing human-like conversational abilities that forever changed how we interact with machines. Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, lauded Murati’s talent for assembling teams with deep technical expertise, business acumen, and a mission-driven mindset, noting that she helped build “some of the most exciting AI technologies we’ve ever seen, including ChatGPT, DALL-E, and GPT-4”.
Murati’s tenure at OpenAI was marked not only by technical breakthroughs but also by steady leadership through turbulent times. In November 2023, when OpenAI’s CEO was suddenly ousted, Murati stepped up as interim CEO to steer the organization through a very public crisis. Though the leadership shuffle was resolved within days, Murati’s poise during the episode cemented her reputation as a capable and trusted leader. By late 2024, after years of pushing the boundaries of AI (and even appearing on Time’s list of 100 most influential people in AI, Murati decided to chart a new path. She announced her departure from OpenAI to “do my own exploration,” expressing gratitude for the journey and hinting at ambitions beyond the research lab. This set the stage for the next bold chapter of her career.
Innovating at OpenAI: Leadership, Vision, and Responsible AI
At OpenAI, Murati earned a reputation as both an innovator and a visionary leader. She drove the organization’s transition from pure research into real-world applications, spearheading products that brought AI to millions. ChatGPT, for example, launched under her technical leadership and achieved 100 million users within two months – the fastest-growing consumer application in history at the time. Murati also guided the development of DALL·E, which enables users to generate art from text, and Codex, which translates natural language to code. These tools have not only showcased AI’s creative potential but also its ability to augment human productivity. Murati’s hand in these projects underscores her commitment to advancing cutting-edge AI while keeping it accessible and useful.
Crucially, Murati’s leadership has always been coupled with a strong sense of responsibility and ethics in AI. She has been an outspoken advocate for opening AI models to public feedback and for proactively engaging with society about AI’s impacts. “You could make technological progress in a vacuum… but then the question is, are you actually moving in the right direction?” Murati once remarked, emphasizing the importance of real-world testing over lab isolation. She has consistently argued that technologists shouldn’t make the big decisions around AI’s societal effects in isolation. “There are big societal questions that shouldn’t be in the hands of technologists alone,” she told an interviewer, underscoring her support for sensible AI regulation and input from philosophers, ethicists, and diverse stakeholders.
This blend of innovation and prudence defined Murati’s tenure at OpenAI. She cultivated interdisciplinary teams – pairing engineers with ethicists and user experience researchers – to ensure that AI systems were developed responsibly. Internally, colleagues admired her collaborative leadership style; externally, industry leaders like Nadella praised her ability to align cutting-edge technical work with a larger mission. Murati’s vision has always been clear: AI should be a tool to extend human capabilities, not a force that operates detached from human values. That ethos would carry forward into her next venture.
A $2 Billion Bet on the Future: Inside the Historic Fundraise
In early 2025, Mira Murati stepped into a new role as founder and CEO, launching an ambitious startup called Thinking Machines Lab. The company remained in stealth for a few months, but it carried a bold mission – to “make AI systems more widely understood, customizable, and generally capable”. Few could have predicted just how dramatic Thinking Machines Lab’s debut would be. In July 2025, Murati’s young company officially closed a $2 billion seed funding round led by venture firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z). The round – which also included a who’s-who of strategic tech investors like Nvidia, Accel, ServiceNow, Cisco, AMD, and Jane Street – values the six-month-old startup at a staggering $12 billion. It’s one of the largest first-round fundraises in Silicon Valley history, an unprecedented vote of confidence in Murati’s vision.
To put this in perspective, Thinking Machines Lab has raised more money in a single round than many public tech companies’ entire market caps, despite having no product or revenue – yet. The scale of this investment reflects both the ultracompetitive race in AI and the premium investors place on top talent in the field. In an industry where cutting-edge AI expertise is in white-hot demand, Murati’s track record made her a magnet for funding. Reuters noted that securing ~$2B for a company barely a few months old, with no commercial product, “underscores Murati’s ability to attract investors in a sector where top executives have become coveted targets”. In other words, the backers are betting as much on Murati herself as on any specific idea – a testament to the credibility she earned leading OpenAI’s breakthroughs. As one analysis put it, this massive round is “a vote of confidence in Murati’s unique blend of technical leadership, wartime experience launching flagship systems, and an influential network – her name carries weight”.
"Thinking Machines Lab exists to empower humanity through advancing collaborative general intelligence.
We're building multimodal AI that works with how you naturally interact with the world - through conversation, through sight, through the messy way we collaborate. We're excited that in the next couple months we’ll be able to share our first product, which will include a significant open source component and be useful for researchers and startups developing custom models. Soon, we’ll also share our best science to help the research community better understand frontier AI systems." - Mira Murati, former Chief Technology Officer of OpenAI & Co-Founder and CEO at Thinking Machines Lab
Who’s Investing and Why It Matters
The investor roster in Thinking Machines Lab’s seed round is a story in itself. Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), known for backing bold tech bets, led the round, signifying strong conviction in Murati’s venture. Nvidia, the AI chip giant, joined in – a logical partnership given AI’s insatiable need for computing power. Other participants include top-tier venture funds like Accel, enterprise tech leaders like ServiceNow and Cisco, chipmaker AMD, and even quantitative trading firm Jane Street. The diversity of investors – spanning hardware, software, finance, and enterprise – indicates that Murati’s vision resonates across the tech ecosystem. (Notably, reports also surfaced that the government of Albania contributed a small investment, a proud nod to Murati’s country of birth, further underlining the symbolic weight of her endeavor.
Why are these heavyweights pouring money into Murati’s startup? The move comes amid a frenzy to back the next wave of AI innovation. Murati and her co-founders (a team composed largely of ex-OpenAI researchers, including John Schulman, who helped build ChatGPT) are viewed as “AI royalty” with the expertise to challenge incumbents. Thinking Machines Lab is one of a handful of new labs – alongside ventures like Anthropic – that investors see as capable of pushing the frontier of AI and potentially rivaling the likes of OpenAI, Google DeepMind, and Meta’s AI group. By securing a $2B war chest, Murati’s team has the resources to train cutting-edge AI models and pursue long-term research without immediate commercial pressure. In essence, the fundraise equips them to play in the big leagues of AI development from day one.
What $2B Enables: Murati’s Vision for Thinking Machines Lab
While still in stealth mode during the fundraise, Murati has offered tantalizing hints of what Thinking Machines Lab aims to achieve. She describes the mission as building “multimodal AI that works with how you naturally interact with the world – through conversation, through sight, through the messy way we collaborate”. In contrast to AI systems that operate as black-box tools, Murati envisions AI more like a helpful teammate – “collaborative general intelligence” that can see, talk, and work alongside humans. This philosophy likely stems from her experience noticing real-world needs during her time at OpenAI. Rather than just another chatbot or image generator, her lab is aiming for AI that can integrate into human workflows and empower people in a practical, day-to-day sense.
Murati has announced that Thinking Machines Lab’s first product is on the horizon – expected to be revealed in the next couple of months – and importantly, it “will include a significant open source component”. This implies the startup might release parts of its code or models to the public, allowing researchers and startups to build custom AI systems on top of their technology. It’s a notable strategy that could set Thinking Machines Lab apart from more secretive competitors. “Soon, we’ll also share our best science to help the research community better understand frontier AI systems,” Murati wrote on social media, reinforcing her ethos of openness. Such an approach could accelerate progress across the AI field, as external developers and academics build on the lab’s work.
The massive funding also buys time and talent. Since launching, Murati has attracted dozens of top-tier AI researchers and engineers to join her – nearly two-thirds of the initial team hails from OpenAI, and others come from Meta and Google’s AI divisions. This means the lab isn’t starting from scratch; it’s imbued with the know-how of people who have built large-scale AI before. With ample capital, Murati can scale up compute infrastructure (indeed, the startup has already struck a deal with Google Cloud for AI supercomputing and iterate on research ideas at full throttle. Of course, expectations are sky-high – $2 billion of expectation, to be exact. But if Murati’s history is any guide, she will lean on both her technical chops and her leadership instincts to steer this ship toward breakthroughs.
Leadership Style: Pioneering with Purpose and Teamwork
Those who have worked with Mira Murati often highlight her dynamic leadership style – a combination of visionary thinking, collaborative spirit, and steadiness under pressure. As a leader, Murati is known to be hands-on with technology yet adept at big-picture strategy, an increasingly vital trait in AI’s fast-paced landscape. At OpenAI, she managed to oversee research scientists and engineers while also interfacing with policy experts and partners, bridging the gap between cutting-edge innovation and real-world deployment. This ability to “assemble teams with technical expertise, commercial acumen, and a deep appreciation for the importance of mission” has been one of Murati’s hallmarks, as Microsoft’s Satya Nadella observed. She ensures her teams aren’t just technically excellent but also aligned with a shared vision of why their work matters for society.
Murati’s “people-first” approach to technology is another distinctive aspect of her leadership. She often frames AI as a tool to augment human potential – describing systems as assistants or partners rather than replacements. In interviews, she has portrayed tools like ChatGPT and DALL·E as “extensions of our creativity” and productivity, meant to help people achieve more rather than render them obsolete. This perspective likely makes her an empathetic leader, attuned to both user needs and her team’s morale. It’s notable that after her departure, many former colleagues eagerly followed her to the new startup – a testament to the loyalty and inspiration she fosters.
Moreover, Murati doesn’t shy away from the tough questions in AI. She has openly discussed the ethical dilemmas and societal impacts of AI, indicating a reflective and responsible leadership stance. At OpenAI, she established processes to evaluate AI model risks and incorporated ethicists into the development cycle. In the current climate – where AI can spark as much anxiety as excitement – Murati’s measured, inclusive approach stands out. She’s as comfortable talking about safety and bias mitigation as she is about model architecture. This well-rounded leadership profile is undoubtedly part of why investors and peers alike have such confidence in her. They’re not just betting on her coding skills; they’re betting on her integrity, strategic vision, and ability to rally others around a common goal.
Breaking Barriers: The Importance of Diverse Leadership in AI
Mira Murati’s story is remarkable not only because of her personal achievements, but also because of what it represents in the broader context of tech. The technology and AI sectors have long struggled with gender diversity, especially in leadership. Recent analyses show that women hold only about 30% of leadership roles in AI-focused organizations – and a mere 10% of the top technical or CEO positions. In a field often described as male-dominated, Murati’s ascent to CTO of a leading AI company and now founder-CEO of a heavily funded startup is a beacon of progress. She has quite literally changed the face of AI leadership, showing that women not only deserve a seat at the table but can head the table and deliver world-changing results.
The broader implications of her leadership are significant. Research has repeatedly shown that diverse leadership teams spur greater innovation and better decision-making, and Murati’s influence at OpenAI arguably provides a case in point. During her tenure, OpenAI not only accelerated AI research but also took unprecedented steps in public engagement and policy discussions, areas where a range of perspectives (including those of women and people from non-traditional backgrounds) are especially valuable. By championing responsible AI and transparency, Murati introduced a more inclusive ethos to a field that can sometimes skew toward pure technical zeal. Her presence in the top ranks also sends an encouraging message to young women and underrepresented minorities in STEM: you belong in AI, and you can lead it.
Murati herself has acknowledged the importance of representation. She has been featured in Women in Tech forums and was named among Fortune’s Most Powerful Women in Business in 2023. In interviews, she often downplays personal accolades and instead emphasizes mentorship and team success – a leadership trait that further helps uplift others. As one of the highest-profile women in AI, Murati carries the torch for equality, whether she explicitly intends to or not. Every milestone she hits – be it launching a groundbreaking AI model or negotiating a billion-dollar deal – chips away at lingering biases about who can excel in technology.
Inspiring the Next Generation
Within the WomenTech Network and beyond, Mira Murati’s journey resonates as an empowering narrative. She has shown that leading with both heart and brilliance can yield extraordinary outcomes in tech. Her $2B fundraise isn’t just about a dollar figure; it’s about opening doors. It illustrates that when investors back diverse leadership, innovation flourishes. It highlights that a woman immigrant engineer can galvanize the global tech community around a transformative idea – and that idea might very well change the world.
As the AI revolution charges ahead, having leaders like Murati at the forefront will be crucial to ensure the technology develops in a way that benefits all of humanity. Her emphasis on collaboration, ethical safeguards, and empowering users sets a template for how AI projects can be led responsibly. And as a role model, Murati is already inspiring a new generation of women in STEM to pursue their ambitions in cutting-edge fields like artificial intelligence. In a recent global survey, women’s participation in AI engineering roles had risen to about 29% in 2025 (up from 23% in 2018) – a positive trend that leaders like Murati are accelerating by breaking stereotypes and visibly succeeding.
Conclusion
Mira Murati’s story – from her early days in Albania to Silicon Valley’s biggest stages – is a testament to innovation, courage, and inclusive leadership. By leading OpenAI’s development of world-renowned AI products, she proved her technical mettle; by securing a historic $2 billion investment for her startup, she proved that the world is ready to believe in her vision. Along the way, she has lit the way for women in tech, showing that leadership in AI need not look like the status quo. When diverse voices lead, technology benefits – it becomes more attuned to human needs, more reflective of society, and more likely to steer towards positive outcomes.
As we watch Murati’s next chapter unfold at Thinking Machines Lab, one thing is clear: she is not only building advanced AI systems, she’s also building a legacy for women in technology. In an industry poised to reshape the future, Mira Murati is ensuring that women are at the helm of that future – and that is something the whole tech world can celebrate.
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