Barret Zoph, OpenAI's head of enterprise AI sales, has left the company just five months after rejoining, The Verge has learned. His departure marks the second time in under two years he has exited the firm.
Zoph returned in mid-January after serving as co-founder and CTO of Thinking Machines Lab, a competing startup launched by former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati. His role upon return was central to OpenAI's strategy of prioritizing enterprise sales and coding revenue ahead of a planned initial public offering.
OpenAI had recently pledged to cut side projects and focus on core revenue engines. Zoph's exit could slow those efforts, especially as the company tries to demonstrate stable leadership to investors. The firm confirmed the departure to The Verge.
The timing raises concerns about internal turmoil just as OpenAI seeks to scale commercially. No successor has been named, and Zoph has not commented publicly on his reasons for leaving.
Some analysts argue the shuffle reflects normal churn in a fast-growing industry, not systemic dysfunction. Yet the pattern of high-profile exits, from Murati to Zoph, may test investor confidence.