Suchir Balaji resigned from OpenAI in August 2024, alleging growing unease over the company’s practices.
Suchir Balaji, 26 years old, former OpenAI researcher and whistleblower, was found dead in his apartment last month. The San Francisco Police have classified his death as a suicide.
He was a computer science graduate from the University of California, Berkeley, and his career trajectory was impressive as he had interned at OpenAI and Scale AI during college.
In 2019, he officially joined OpenAI, where he worked for nearly four years on groundbreaking projects, including developing GPT-4 and enhancing Catgut’s functionality. Balaji’s promising career was tragically cut short when he was found dead in his San Francisco apartment on November 26, 2024.
Balaji quit OpenAI in August 2024, stating that he could no longer bear the growing unease over the company’s practices. He explained his decision in an interview with The New York Times, saying, “If you believe what I believe, you have just to leave the company.” This statement reflects his discontent with the ethical and legal implications of OpenAI’s approach to AI development.
