<p id="speakable-summary" class="wp-block-paragraph">Lilian Weng, co-founder of <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/15/thinking-machines-amps-up-its-bet-against-one-size-fits-all-ai-with-its-first-open-model-inkling/">Thinking Machines</a>, announced this week that she would step down from her role, citing health issues.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“I don’t feel I’m able to continue at the pace a startup requires,” she wrote in an internal Slack message, which she also <a href="https://x.com/lilianweng/status/2081816923088814421" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">shared</a> on X. “After thinking about it for several months, I ultimately have to admit that the amount of consistent stress and workload have pushed me beyond what my health can sustain physically.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">On Wednesday, OpenAI told TechCrunch that Weng would be rejoining the company, where she previously served as the VP of AI Safety Research. </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">According to a company spokesperson, Weng will lead a top-level team focused on accelerating OpenAI’s internal research. This team will support cross-research work on recursive self-improvement, a process that would allow an AI system to iterate on itself to become more powerful.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">This move could be read as contradictory to Weng’s statements about the impact of working at a fast-paced startup on her health — however, she likely won’t face as much direct pressure while working at a company where she isn’t a co-founder. Still, in a time of fierce competition for talent among AI labs, this high-profile departure is notable. </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Thinking Machines co-founder and former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati replied to Weng’s X post earlier this week and expressed <a href="https://x.com/miramurati/status/2081835376449363986" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">support</a> for her decision to focus on her health. It is unclear if Murati was aware that Weng would rejoin OpenAI.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">It is a hard and sad decision. I shared this message with folks at Thinky. Thank you all for the time together♥️ Just as the last sentence in my message: The future worth building is human. <a rel="nofollow" href="https://t.co/VGb5fM5chX">pic.twitter.com/VGb5fM5chX</a></p>— Lilian Weng (@lilianweng) <a rel="nofollow" href="https://x.com/lilianweng/status/2081816923088814421?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 27, 2026</a></blockquote>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“We’ll miss you, it’s been wonderful building Thinky together. I’m glad that you’re putting your health first. Thank you for everything,” Murati wrote in response to Weng’s post. </p>
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