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Brad Lightcap, one of the longest-serving executives at OpenAI, is leaving the powerful AI lab to \u201cstart something new.\u201d<\/p>\n
In an internal message that Lightcap shared online Tuesday<\/a>, the outgoing executive told OpenAI staff that it was \u201cbittersweet to share that I\u2019ll be moving on from OpenAI to start something new.\u201d<\/p>\n Lightcap, who joined the company in 2018, spent four years as OpenAI\u2019s chief financial officer. He then ascended to chief operating officer, where he served from 2022 until earlier this year when, amidst a shakeup of executive roles, he transitioned<\/a> to lead special projects at the company. Prior to OpenAI, Lightcap also worked with<\/a> CEO Sam Altman at venture capital firm Y Combinator.<\/p>\n \u201cI had the privilege of building the first versions of most of our operations and business teams \u2013 from Finance to Legal, People, CorpSec, GTM\/Gov, Partnerships, and more,\u201d Lightcap wrote in his message Tuesday. \u201cAmong the most rewarding parts of this journey for me has been watching each of these teams mature under brilliant leaders.\u201d <\/p>\n In his note, Lightcap also looked ahead and hinted at a future venture while giving scant details as to what it might be. <\/p>\n \u201cOver the last few months, I\u2019ve been focused on the next horizon and what would stand in the way of mission success,\u201d Lightcap said. \u201cI believe there are a few important new things the world will need to get right as we enter this next period. I\u2019ll have more to share soon, but I believe in OpenAI more than ever and am excited to help you all advance the mission from a different vantage point.\u201d<\/p>\n As OpenAI preps for an IPO of industrywide significance<\/a>, the company has been undergoing a shakeup of top-level executives. In July, the company\u2019s No. 2 executive, Fidji Simo, who led AGI development, announced<\/a> she would be stepping down. Other executives from less central areas of the company \u2014 including Bill Peebles<\/a>, who formerly headed the company\u2019s now dead\u00a0video generator Sora<\/a>, and Kevin Weil<\/a>, the vice president of the company\u2019s Science vertical \u2014 have also recently left the firm.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission<\/a>. This doesn\u2019t affect our editorial independence.<\/em><\/p>\n