• Source:JND

Indian-origin tech leader Srinivas Narayanan, who serves as Chief Technology Officer (CTO) for B2B Applications at OpenAI, has announced his resignation from the position, effective next week.

Narayanan arrived at OpenAI as Vice President - Engineering in April 2023 and subsequently took on lead engineering roles to support additional key Enterprise functions. In a post on X, he confirmed his exit, saying, “After 3 incredible years, I am leaving OpenAI at the end of next week,” and added that he had already informed the company’s leadership earlier this month.

ALSO READ: Heatwave Alert: Schools Across India Revise Timings As Temperatures Cross 40°C

Sharing a note addressed to his team, Narayanan described his journey at OpenAI as “an incredible experience that felt more like ten years.” He said leading the B2B engineering team had been a privilege and noted that recent and upcoming product launches made it a suitable time to step away.

He also reflected on his earlier stint leading the Applied Engineering team during OpenAI’s early expansion phase, saying, “I will also fondly remember my prior role leading the Applied Engineering team, from when it was 40 people on a single floor in the 575 office, when I first started. We shipped some of the fastest-growing products in history, like ChatGPT and the API, with no real playbook to guide us,” he said, crediting the team for its passion and dedication.

Narayanan expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to work with OpenAI’s Chief Executive Officer, Sam Altman, the President, Greg Brockman, and other senior executives and called it a “once-in-a-lifetime experience” during this critical time in AI development.

He said he would be spending time off with his family in India (primarily his elderly parents) before making a career decision going forward.

“I am looking forward to spending some much-needed time with my ageing parents in India before deciding what’s next,” he wrote. 

Narayanan’s Career Background

According to Narayanan's LinkedIn Profile, he earned a Bachelor's of Technology Degree in Computer Science from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras and continued to earn a Master's Degree in Computer Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Previously, he has worked at major tech companies, including IBM, Meta (Facebook), and startups.

ALSO READ: TMC Leads Women Representation In Lok Sabha: Where Do BJP, Congress, And Others Stand Amid Quota Standoff?

Narayanan began working as an Engineer at IBM's Almaden Research Centre (1997). He worked as Director of Technology for Tavant Technologies before starting his own company, Viralizr, in 2007 and serving as CTO until 2008.

In 2008, Narayan joined META (formerly known as Facebook) as Vice President of Engineering and spent more than a decade leading numerous engineering teams and projects throughout this period. 


Also In News