Lilian Weng, OpenAI’s vice president of research and safety, announced Friday that she will leave the company on November 15.

Former employees cite a shift toward commercial goals over AI safety as a reason for departures.

Weng, associated with OpenAI since 2018, shared via X her intention to explore new opportunities.

During her tenure, Weng helped establish the firm’s robotics team. She later contributed to forming the applied AI research team.

In 2021, she led efforts to create the safety systems team, currently comprising more than 80 professionals.

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