OpenAI talent exodus raises 'huge red flag' ahead of IPO

Sam Altman, chief executive officer and co-founder of OpenAI Inc., right, and Greg Brockman, president and co-founder of OpenAI Inc., arrive at the federal court in Oakland, California, US, on Thursday, April 30, 2026. David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesWhen OpenAI hired Denise Dresser from Slack to be its chief revenue officer in December, Fidji Simo, a top-ranking executive, said in a blog post that Dresser's "experience will help us make AI useful, reliable, and accessible for businesses everywhere."Four months later, Dresser took on added responsibilities when operating chief Brad Lightcap left that position for a new role focused on "special projects."Now, Dresser, Simo and Lightcap are all gone, leaving OpenAI's C-suite in chaos as the artificial intelligence company tries to justify its $852 billion valuation and gear up for what's expected to be a historic IPO. Dresser announced her sudden departure on Thursday, two days after Lightcap said he was ending an eight-year stint at the ChatGPT creator to "start something new."The talent exodus puts even more pressure on CEO Sam Altman and fellow co-founder Greg Brockman, the company's president, to project stability at ...