Barret Zoph is out at OpenAI again after just five monthsFive months after returning to OpenAI, Barret Zoph — the company’s head of enterprise AI sales — has departed, The Verge has learned.
Zoph returned to OpenAI in mid-January after a stint as co-founder and CTO of Thinking Machines Lab, the competing AI company founded by former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati. Shortly after Zoph returned to OpenAI, the company said he would lead its push into enterprise — a significant role at OpenAI, since in recent months it had vowed to stop chasing so-called “side quests” and focus on key revenue drivers like enterprise and coding ahead of its planned IPO.
OpenAI confirmed to The Verge that Zoph will be departing. He posted a goodbye message in the company’s Slack channels. Zoph did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Zoph originally left OpenAI in the fall of 2024 for Murati’s Thinking Machines Lab, but departed the role abruptly in January 2026 after reports of alleged misconduct involving an undisclosed relationship with a colleague. Murati posted on X in January that Thinking Machines Lab had “parted ways” with Zoph and that he would be replaced as CTO.
Thinking Machines Lab has its own tensions with OpenAI. Murati briefly took over as CEO from OpenAI CEO Sam Altman during his November 2023 ouster, and during the recent OpenAI trial, Murati testified that she couldn’t trust everything Altman said. In September 2024, when Murati left OpenAI to start Thinking Machines Lab, a group of OpenAI employees followed shortly after. But three of them — including Zoph — all returned to OpenAI together this past January. Fidji Simo, OpenAI’s CEO of Applications, wrote on X at the time that she was “excited to welcome Barret Zoph, Luke Metz, and Sam Schoenholz back” and that the decision had “been in the works for several weeks.”
#Barret #Zoph #OpenAI #monthsAI,OpenAI,Report
Five months after returning to OpenAI, Barret Zoph — the company’s head of enterprise AI sales — has departed, The Verge has learned.
Zoph returned to OpenAI in mid-January after a stint as co-founder and CTO of Thinking Machines Lab, the competing AI company founded by former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati. Shortly after Zoph returned to OpenAI, the company said he would lead its push into enterprise — a significant role at OpenAI, since in recent months it had vowed to stop chasing so-called “side quests” and focus on key revenue drivers like enterprise and coding ahead of its planned IPO.
OpenAI confirmed to The Verge that Zoph will be departing. He posted a goodbye message in the company’s Slack channels. Zoph did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Zoph originally left OpenAI in the fall of 2024 for Murati’s Thinking Machines Lab, but departed the role abruptly in January 2026 after reports of alleged misconduct involving an undisclosed relationship with a colleague. Murati posted on X in January that Thinking Machines Lab had “parted ways” with Zoph and that he would be replaced as CTO.
Thinking Machines Lab has its own tensions with OpenAI. Murati briefly took over as CEO from OpenAI CEO Sam Altman during his November 2023 ouster, and during the recent OpenAI trial, Murati testified that she couldn’t trust everything Altman said. In September 2024, when Murati left OpenAI to start Thinking Machines Lab, a group of OpenAI employees followed shortly after. But three of them — including Zoph — all returned to OpenAI together this past January. Fidji Simo, OpenAI’s CEO of Applications, wrote on X at the time that she was “excited to welcome Barret Zoph, Luke Metz, and Sam Schoenholz back” and that the decision had “been in the works for several weeks.”
![Believe It: ‘Naruto’ Gets In On the Anime Trading Card Game Craze
The Naruto anime turns 25 next year, and to mark the occasion, it’s getting a new trading card game. Developed by Bandai Card Games, the TCG will be a strategy-focused experience for the competitive-minded folk. Along with the big anniversary milestone, this’ll be the franchise’s first dip into the trading card waters since the early 2010s. Since then, Bandai’s been gradually putting out similar games for popular shonen like Digimon, One Piece, and Dragon Ball. As a member of the Big Three and important to shonen culture, it makes sense Naruto gets a fresh game. In a brief statement, Naruto creator Masashi Kishimoto expressed joy at his franchise “growing larger once again. I truly hope these cards find their way to both their hands and your hearts.” Kishimoto also drew artwork for the TCG featuring the teen versions of Boruto’s dad and his longtime best bud Sasuke Uchiha, and they’re the stars of the trailer below. [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MefaL2fKvzk[/embed] Bandai’s keeping mum for now on how Naruto Card Game plays or even what characters will be in it. Details will be revealed at Gen Con Indy, where attendees will also get to play it for themselves. The annual tabletop game convention runs from July 30-August 2 this year, and playtests will run during the whole event. Each one-hour session is free, and you can get tickets here. If you can’t make it, then you’ll surely see more of it before the TCG hits stores in 2027. It’s probably not the only thing being cooked up to honor the anime—after all, Pierrot never did release those four brand-new episodes to celebrate the 20th anniversary. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who. #Naruto #Anime #Trading #Card #Game #CrazeBandai,Naruto,Trading Cards Believe It: ‘Naruto’ Gets In On the Anime Trading Card Game Craze
The Naruto anime turns 25 next year, and to mark the occasion, it’s getting a new trading card game. Developed by Bandai Card Games, the TCG will be a strategy-focused experience for the competitive-minded folk. Along with the big anniversary milestone, this’ll be the franchise’s first dip into the trading card waters since the early 2010s. Since then, Bandai’s been gradually putting out similar games for popular shonen like Digimon, One Piece, and Dragon Ball. As a member of the Big Three and important to shonen culture, it makes sense Naruto gets a fresh game. In a brief statement, Naruto creator Masashi Kishimoto expressed joy at his franchise “growing larger once again. I truly hope these cards find their way to both their hands and your hearts.” Kishimoto also drew artwork for the TCG featuring the teen versions of Boruto’s dad and his longtime best bud Sasuke Uchiha, and they’re the stars of the trailer below. [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MefaL2fKvzk[/embed] Bandai’s keeping mum for now on how Naruto Card Game plays or even what characters will be in it. Details will be revealed at Gen Con Indy, where attendees will also get to play it for themselves. The annual tabletop game convention runs from July 30-August 2 this year, and playtests will run during the whole event. Each one-hour session is free, and you can get tickets here. If you can’t make it, then you’ll surely see more of it before the TCG hits stores in 2027. It’s probably not the only thing being cooked up to honor the anime—after all, Pierrot never did release those four brand-new episodes to celebrate the 20th anniversary. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who. #Naruto #Anime #Trading #Card #Game #CrazeBandai,Naruto,Trading Cards](https://gizmodo.com/app/uploads/2026/06/naruto-tcg-hed-1280x853.jpg)

Post Comment