OpenAI founding member Andrej Karpathy departs to ‘work on personal projects’

Andrej Karpathy, an AI researcher and one of the founding members of OpenAI, announced on Tuesday his departure from the company via a post on X (formerly Twitter). Karpathy said he’s leaving the company to start a new chapter and “work on personal projects.”

This move marks his second tenure at OpenAI, having initially been part of the team from 2015 to 2017 before rejoining in 2023. Notably, both Karpathy and OpenAI have said that his departure was on good terms and not due to any internal conflicts. This news marks a major departure from OpenAI.

In his Tuesday post, Karpathy said:

“Hi everyone yes, I left OpenAI yesterday. First of all nothing “happened” and it’s not a result of any particular event, issue or drama (but please keep the conspiracy theories coming as they are highly entertaining :)). Actually, being at OpenAI over the last ~year has been really great – the team is really strong, the people are wonderful, and the roadmap is very exciting, and I think we all have a lot to look forward to. My immediate plan is to work on my personal projects and see what happens. Those of you who’ve followed me for a while may have a sense for what that might look like 😉 Cheers”

Hi everyone yes, I left OpenAI yesterday. First of all nothing "happened" and it’s not a result of any particular event, issue or drama (but please keep the conspiracy theories coming as they are highly entertaining :)). Actually, being at OpenAI over the last ~year has been…

— Andrej Karpathy (@karpathy) February 14, 2024

Karpathy, known as a prominent figure in the field of artificial intelligence, was working on a project he described as an AI assistant, collaborating closely with Bob McGrew, the company’s research chief. While ChatGPT has been widely popular among consumers, OpenAI aims to introduce software capable of automating complex computer tasks such as filling out and processing expense reports, as reported by The Information last week.

Although Karpathy cited personal projects as his reason for leaving, the specifics remain undisclosed. It’s noteworthy that his recent OpenAI bio mentioned his work on “building kind of a J.A.R.V.I.S,” indicating involvement in conversational AI projects. His departure has sparked discussions regarding its potential impact on OpenAI’s ongoing initiatives and the trajectory of his own endeavors.

Prior to his recent tenure at OpenAI, Karpathy served as a senior director for AI at Tesla, where he played a pivotal role in developing the electric car manufacturer’s artificial intelligence and driver assistant technology.

Karpathy, who had been a student of prominent Stanford AI scientist Fei-Fei Li, joined OpenAI as one of its earliest team members before transitioning to Tesla. He has recently discussed the concept of large language models, such as AI, acting as a new type of computer operating system.