Fidji Simo says Barret Zoph, Luke Metz, and Sam Schoenholz have returned to OpenAI from Thinking Machines Lab and “this has been in the works for several weeks”
Excited to welcome Barret Zoph, Luke Metz, and Sam Schoenholz back to OpenAI! This has been in the works for several weeks, and we're thrilled to have them join the team. Barret will report to me; Luke and Sam will report into Barret. More to come on what they'll focus on soon!
@fidjissimoFidji Simo
Context & Ripple Effects
The hires place Fidji Simo at the center of a new reporting line, consistent with earlier coverage that she would oversee executives who had previously reported to Sam Altman, including several senior OpenAI leaders.
Related coverage later tied Zoph's return to OpenAI's enterprise push, while his prior 2024 departure had already prompted researcher team-switching inside OpenAI. The move therefore matters as both a talent return and an organizational assignment.
First-order effects
OpenAI regains Zoph, Metz, and Schoenholz from Thinking Machines, with Zoph reporting to Simo and the other two reporting through him.
Thinking Machines loses three returning OpenAI staffers at once, including Zoph, whom related coverage identifies as a cofounder and former CTO.
Second-order effects
The reporting structure gives Simo a defined technical leadership chain to deploy; subsequent coverage's enterprise assignment for Zoph suggests the hires could be directed toward commercial execution rather than a standalone research unit.
Thinking Machines must absorb the loss of senior technical continuity while OpenAI gains a concentrated group of collaborators, increasing the value of retention and succession planning at smaller frontier labs.
Third-order effects
If repeat movement of senior researchers between frontier labs persists, organizational design and manager-level ownership—not just model research—will become a more visible competitive battleground.
The trend: This is one instance of frontier AI labs competing for scarce senior technical leaders while formalizing those leaders into larger commercial and management structures.
🚨🚨🚨BREAKING: OPENAI JUST POACHED 3 RESEARCHERS BACK FROM THINKING MACHINES Barret Zoph > VP of Research (Post-Training) at OAI > Co-Founder & CTO at @thinkymachines Luke Metz and Sam Schoenholz > OpenAI Research Scientist > Member of technician staff at TML [image]
uh, so like thinking machines completely imploded today? someone dm me the tea plz. there is more drama in ai than in the desperate housewives of silicon valley.
That's quite a coup - all three went to the @thinkymachines - Barret Zoph - left OpenAI in September 2024 to become the CTO (!) of the Thinking Machines - Luke Metz - left in Oct 2024 & was a co-founder (!) of the Thinking Machines - Sam Schoenholz - left in Feb 2025
This tweet alongside Fidji Simo's tweet around the move being ‘in the works for several weeks’ and alongside the rumors about OpenAI preparing to go public is insane. No dramatic ai progress, just drama