Thinking Machines co-founder Lilian Weng left the company citing health reasons, then joined OpenAI
Thinking Machines co-founder Lilian Weng left the company citing health reasons, then joined OpenAI
Thinking Machines 联合创始人 Lilian Weng 以健康为由离职，随后加入 OpenAI
Lilian Weng, co-founder of Thinking Machines, announced this week that she would step down from her role, citing health issues. “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 shared 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.”
Thinking Machines 联合创始人 Lilian Weng 本周宣布辞去职务，理由是健康问题。她在内部 Slack 消息中写道（随后也在 X 上分享了该消息）：“我觉得自己无法再维持初创公司所要求的节奏。经过几个月的深思熟虑，我最终不得不承认，持续的压力和工作量已经超出了我身体所能承受的极限。”
On Wednesday, OpenAI told TechCrunch that Weng would be rejoining the company, where she previously served as the VP of AI Safety Research. 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.
周三，OpenAI 向 TechCrunch 证实，Weng 将重返该公司，她此前曾担任 OpenAI 的 AI 安全研究副总裁。据公司发言人称，Weng 将领导一个顶级团队，专注于加速 OpenAI 的内部研究。该团队将支持关于“递归自我改进”（recursive self-improvement）的跨领域研究工作，这一过程旨在使 AI 系统能够自我迭代，从而变得更加强大。
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.
此举可能会被解读为与 Weng 此前关于“快节奏初创公司工作对健康影响”的声明相矛盾——然而，在一家她并非联合创始人的公司工作，她可能不会面临那么大的直接压力。尽管如此，在 AI 实验室人才竞争激烈的当下，这次高调的人事变动依然引人注目。
Thinking Machines co-founder and former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati replied to Weng’s X post earlier this week and expressed support for her decision to focus on her health. It is unclear if Murati was aware that Weng would rejoin OpenAI.
Thinking Machines 联合创始人、前 OpenAI 首席技术官 Mira Murati 本周早些时候回复了 Weng 的 X 帖子，并对她决定专注于健康表示支持。目前尚不清楚 Murati 是否知晓 Weng 将重返 OpenAI。
“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.
“我们会想念你的，一起打造 Thinky 的时光非常美好。很高兴你能把健康放在首位。谢谢你所做的一切，”Murati 在回复 Weng 的帖子时写道。