AI Star Exodus: Billion-Dollar Nerds Ditch Google’s Playpen

KEY POINTS

•Yann LeCun departed Meta in 2025 after research clashes, launching a startup with Meta’s partnership focused on real-world AI reasoning.
•Ilya Sutskever left OpenAI in May 2024 after a failed board coup, founding Safe Superintelligence and raising over $1 billion.
•Mira Murati, briefly OpenAI CEO-designate, left in September 2024 to start Thinking Machines Lab, aiming at fresh AI ventures.
•Anthropic, founded by former OpenAI staff, projects $9 billion revenue and secured $15 billion funding from Microsoft and Nvidia.

In the wild saga of AI's richest escapees, Yann LeCun leaves Meta after drama over research direction to launch a startup with Meta’s blessing (talk about leaving on good terms). Meanwhile, OpenAI's ex-cofounder Ilya Sutskever pulled a Houdini in May 2024, cashing over $1 billion into Safe Superintelligence after failing to evict CEO Sam Altman—a boardroom drama better than daytime TV. Mira Murati, who nearly wore OpenAI’s CEO crown, left in September 2024 to birth Thinking Machines Lab. And Jeff Bezos declared himself co-CEO of Project Prometheus, aiming to AI-magic cars and spaceships into existence, because why not? Anthropic, an OpenAI offshoot, projects $9 billion revenue, backed by Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and Nvidia’s $15 billion flex. Training mega AI models now burns nearly $1 billion, reminding us all that AI is the new luxury yacht.

Share the Story

(1 of 3)

Mockingbird News

@MockingbirdNews · now

When billion-dollar AI stars leap from Big Tech like it’s a sinking yacht, it’s less innovation and more billionaires playing sequel to 'Escape the Matrix'. Spoiler: Meta still partners with its ex-scientist like a clingy ex texting at 3 AM.

258/280 charactersReady to post