Mass Exodus from ChatGPT: Here's the Reason

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - The wave of resignations among OpenAI executives, the company behind ChatGPT, appears to be intensifying. The latest to leave are Bill Peebles and Kevin Weil from the firm founded by Sam Altman. Peebles, who joined in 2023, has departed his role as leader of the short video application Sora. However, the company shut down that app last month as part of efforts to reduce costs and reallocate computing resources ahead of its planned IPO. “I am proud of all the sleepless nights the team experienced before and after the launch to implement the technology responsibly and help guide social norms,” said Peebles in his announcement, quoted from CNBC International on Monday (20/4/2026). Meanwhile, Weil previously served as vice president of OpenAI for Science. He joined the company in 2024 and held the position of head of product. “The last two years have been truly eye-opening, from Chief Product Officer to joining the research team and starting OpenAI for Science,” said Weil. An OpenAI spokesperson explained the future of the OpenAI for Science team. The company is decentralising it as an effort to bring the work closer to teams building leading model capabilities, products, and infrastructure. In addition to Peebles and Weil, Srinivas Narayanan announced he will leave his position as CTO of B2B Applications at OpenAI. His departure follows several other team leaders who resigned earlier. Others who have left include Fidji Simo, former head of product and business at OpenAI, Kate Rouch, who once served as head of marketing at OpenAI, and Brad Lightcap, who left his role as chief operating officer at OpenAI.