When Mira Murati boarded a flight from Albania to Canada at the age of 16, she wasn’t just leaving behind her home country, but she was stepping into a world of possibility. Armed with a scholarship to Pearson College UWC in British Columbia, she joined a community of students from across the globe who were taught not just to excel academically, but to think critically about the world they would soon shape.Two decades later, Murati is doing just that, shaping the world through artificial intelligence. As the former Chief Technology Officer of OpenAI, she helped lead the development of ChatGPT, DALL·E, Codex, and Sora, some of the most transformative AI tools of our time. Today, she’s the founder of Thinking Machines Lab, a $12 billion AI startup that’s already being called one of the most ambitious new ventures in tech.But behind that staggering resume lies a lesser-known story; one of carefully built educational choices, driven curiosity, and a deeply global perspective.
An early start in global thinking
Born in Vlorë, Albania, in 1988, Murati grew up during a time of political and economic change. At 16, she was awarded a place at Pearson College UWC, part of the United World Colleges movement. Located on Vancouver Island, the school brings together students from over 80 countries to study under the International Baccalaureate curriculum while promoting intercultural understanding and social responsibility.At UWC, Murati was introduced to a classroom that extended far beyond textbooks. It was a place where students were encouraged to connect science with ethics, innovation with impact. That exposure to global issues, cultures, and values would stay with her long after she left.
Engineering meets liberal arts
After graduating from Pearson in 2005, Murati pursued a unique academic route, one that bridged the analytical and the abstract. She enrolled in a dual-degree program in the United States, completing a Bachelor of Arts from Colby College in 2011 and a Bachelor of Engineering from Dartmouth College’s Thayer School of Engineering in 2012.The combination may seem unusual in the tech world, but for Murati, it was essential. Colby honed her ability to think critically and communicate ideas, while Dartmouth gave her the engineering muscle to bring those ideas to life. In a field increasingly shaped by questions of ethics, responsibility, and human impact, that blend of skills proved invaluable.
Building the future, step by step
Murati’s professional journey began with a brief stint at Zodiac Aerospace, but her career truly took off at Tesla, where she worked as a product manager on the Model X. From there, she moved to Leap Motion (now Ultraleap), a company exploring augmented reality and gesture-based computing.These experiences laid the groundwork for her next move, joining OpenAI in 2018. Initially brought on as the Vice President of Applied AI and Partnerships, she rose to the role of Chief Technology Officer in 2022.At OpenAI, Murati wasn’t just managing teams, she was steering the creation of tools that would redefine how humans interact with machines. Under her leadership, OpenAI launched ChatGPT, Codex, DALL·E, and the groundbreaking video model Sora. She also played a key role in aligning technical advancement with ethical considerations, pushing for safety and accountability in the use of large language models.
The startup turning heads in Silicon Valley
In September 2024, Murati stepped down as CTO of OpenAI, announcing that she wanted to pursue her own exploration. By February 2025, she had unveiled Thinking Machines Lab, a public benefit AI startup with a mission to build AI systems that are more general-purpose, customisable, and understandable to the public.Backed by investors like Nvidia, Accel, ServiceNow, AMD, and even the government of Albania, the startup closed a record-breaking seed round of $2 billion by July, one of the largest in tech history. With talent from OpenAI, Meta, and Mistral joining her team, Murati’s lab is already being positioned as a serious contender in the next wave of AI innovation.
Education is more than just degrees
Mira Murati’s journey is more than a story of success, it’s a case study in the power of interdisciplinary, global education. From her early scholarship at UWC to her dual academic path in the U.S., every chapter of her learning shaped the thinker and leader she became.For students wondering whether a liberal arts class is worth taking alongside engineering, or whether studying abroad can open up new opportunities, Murati’s path offers an answer: yes, and yes.She is proof that education doesn’t just teach you what to think—it teaches you how to think, and more importantly, why. In a world rapidly being transformed by AI, those are the skills that will matter most.TOI Education is on WhatsApp now. Follow us here.
