Mira Murati's Thinking Machines Lab quietly hired a legendary coder amid top leaders leaving

The Thinking Machines Lab, an AI startup founded by former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati, has made headlines by bringing on board an acclaimed programmer, Neal Wu. Wu, who boasts three gold medals from international programming competitions, previously co-founded the AI startup Cognition, which is currently valued at an impressive $10 billion. He is also the older brother of Scott Wu, the CEO and co-founder of Cognition. This strategic hiring underscores Thinking Machines Lab's ability to attract top-tier talent, even as the company faces intense competition from rivals like Meta, which has been actively poaching employees. Despite the tumultuous environment, the lab has managed to maintain its prestigious reputation, although it refrained from commenting on this latest development. Internal communications reviewed by Business Insider confirm Wu's involvement with the lab, where he is expected to assist developers in training and customizing AI models. However, details regarding his exact role remain undisclosed. According to his LinkedIn profile, he has been working as a co-founder and advisor on a new venture since January 2025, coinciding with the lab's emergence from stealth. The lab has recently experienced a wave of departures among its leadership. Last year, Meta's aggressive recruitment strategies led to significant losses, including the co-founder Andrew Tulloch, who reportedly received a staggering compensation package of up to $1.5 billion. Earlier this year, CTO Barret Zoph and two other founding members made abrupt exits back to OpenAI. Despite these challenges, Thinking Machines Lab retains a strong workforce, with many employees hailing from prestigious AI institutions such as OpenAI and Meta. The startup has been valued at over $10 billion after securing a $2 billion seed funding round prior to launching its product, with ambitions to seek funding at a valuation of $50 billion, as reported by Bloomberg.