How do we explain OpenAI’s executive exodus?

The specter of the company’s IPO hangs over everything. In June, OpenAI said it had filed going-public disclosures confidentially with the SEC. Tapping into public markets would be a boon for the capital-hungry frontier lab, but also brings the prospect of disclosing its financials around the same time as rival Anthropic, which is also planning its public debut. Anthropic, however, is reportedly profitable, while OpenAI is reportedly seeing its losses grow along with its revenue. Now, OpenAI’s IPO isn’t expected until 2027; the average company that files confidentially for an IPO usually hits the trading floor within about five months; SpaceX did so in less than two.

Altman’s public comments about a bad past twelve months at the company and the internal reorganization jibes with a narrative that the company got over its skis with its IPO filing, and is now reshaping the organization to make more money and carry less dead weight.

There’s a common cycle for some tech startups: Brilliant founders create the product, then bring in an experienced CEO to scale the company and prep it to go public. There was a sense of that dynamic when OpenAI brought in now-departed execs like Fidji Simo and Kevin Weil, who were veterans of multiple tech businesses — and now we’re seeing it again as Brockman’s influence grows. Before OpenAI, he was best-known for building out Stripe’s business, and internally for championing the company’s go-to-market efforts.

With so much high-level turnover, OpenAI will need someone to fill the vacuum. The company will also need to trim its sails ahead of the IPO, boosting revenue and cutting costs wherever possible. For both problems, Brockman’s influence may be rising at the perfect time.