OpenAI is losing executives, but poaching Google’s top AI mind too

OpenAI’s executive suite is experiencing a wave of high-profile exits, but the company is also managing to pull in top talent from rivals at the same time. Johannes Heidecke, OpenAI’s head of safety systems, is the latest to leave, telling staff of his decision immediately after an internal reorganisation merged the company’s safety and research divisions, according to a report by Wired.

Heidecke’s exit ends a five-year run at OpenAI. He had stepped into the safety chief role in 2024 after his predecessor, Lilian Weng, left to co-found rival startup Thinking Machines Lab. Days before his announcement, OpenAI’s Chief Futurist, Joshua Achiam, also revealed he was leaving after nine years of safety research, and Fidji Simo, CEO of AGI Deployment, announced she is stepping down following an extended medical leave.

Despite the departures, OpenAI continues attracting major names in AI. Google’s Noam Shazeer, a co-lead of the tech giant’s Gemini AI, joined OpenAI in June. Austrian programmer Peter Steinberger, who created OpenClaw, also joined the company to help build its next generation of AI personal agents.

Chief Research Officer Mark Chen said in an internal memo that safety teams would now be consolidated under Mia Glaese, who takes on an expanded role as VP of Research and Safety. ‘We have bigger coordination challenges around safety today than ever before,’ Chen wrote, pointing to a faster model training cadence and shorter release cycles.

Image: Wikimedia Commons/by Loic Le Meur