Key OpenAI Leaders Depart Amidst Project Shutdowns and Restructuring

Several key employees associated with research projects are leaving OpenAI. Kevin Weil, who led the OpenAI for Science initiative, and Bill Peebles, a researcher involved in creating the Sora video generator, announced their departure.

What is known

OpenAI is cutting back on some internal experimental directions. Specifically, Sora was closed last month. It is estimated that its computational costs reached about $1 million per day. Also, OpenAI for Science, which was developing the Prism platform for scientific research, will be integrated into other teams.

Kevin Weil noted that he had worked on this direction for two years, including transitioning from Chief Product Officer to the research team. The OpenAI for Science project was officially presented in October 2025. Subsequently, a situation arose with a publication claiming that GPT-5 allegedly solved a number of mathematical problems—this statement was later refuted.

Weil's departure occurred the day after the release of the GPT-Rosalind model, aimed at research in biology and drug development. In his message, Bill Peebles also commented on the development of Sora and research in the video field.

Additionally, according to media reports, the head of the corporate applications direction, Srinivas Narayanan, is also leaving the company, who stated he wanted to spend more time with his family.

Source: Kevin Weil