Lilian Weng announced this week that she was leaving AI startup Thinking Machines for health reasons. OpenAI subsequently confirmed to TechCrunch that she has rejoined the company and will lead a senior team focused on accelerating internal research.

Will be responsible for cross-research collaboration

OpenAI stated that the team's mission is to support collaboration across different research directions within the company, with one of the key focuses being the advancement of work related to "recursive self-improvement." This direction refers to enabling AI systems to continuously iterate based on their own output, thereby enhancing their capabilities.

Weng previously served as Vice President of AI Security Research at OpenAI. This return means she will rejoin OpenAI's core research system and assume more internal coordination responsibilities.

After leaving Thinking Machines, he returned to his former employer.

Weng previously stated that her departure from Thinking Machines was related to health. As one of the company's co-founders, her quick return to OpenAI has drawn attention to her career changes.

TechCrunch noted in its report that returning to an established organization might mean she wouldn't have to bear the same level of direct operational pressure as a co-founder. However, given the intensifying competition for core talent among AI labs, this personnel change is still attracting attention.

Mira Murati publicly expressed her support.

Mira Murati, co-founder of Thinking Machines and former CTO of OpenAI, previously responded to Weng's resignation statement on the X platform, expressing her support for prioritizing her health.

Murati wrote that the team will miss Weng and thank her for her contributions to building Thinking Machines. The report also noted that it is unclear whether Murati knew at the time that Weng would be returning to OpenAI.