27 August 2026
OpenAI researcher Zoph joins Google as VP of research
First reported
TLDR AI and TechCrunch ran this on , all on the same day.
- Barret Zoph, who co-founded AI startup Thinking Machines with OpenAI's former CEO Mira Murati in September 2024, was fired from that role in January.
- Zoph returned to OpenAI in January 2025 to head enterprise sales but left after five months in June.
How it was covered
Reported by TechCrunch