Kevin Weil and Bill Peebles exit OpenAI as company continues to shed ‘side quests’

At a glance:

• Kevin Weil, head of OpenAI’s science research initiative, announced his departure.
• Bill Peebles, the creator of the AI video tool Sora, also left the company.
• OpenAI’s chief technology officer of enterprise applications, Srinivas Narayanan, is exiting as the firm trims side projects like Sora and OpenAI for Science.

What happened

OpenAI confirmed that two of its most visible research architects are leaving. Kevin Weil, who rose from Chief Product Officer to lead the company’s science research arm and later launched the internal “OpenAI for Science” group, posted on social media that he is moving on after a “mind‑expanding two years.” His exit follows the shutdown of Sora, the AI‑generated video platform that was reportedly burning through about $1 million in compute costs each day.

Bill Peebles, the researcher behind Sora, also announced his departure on Friday. In his farewell note, Peebles praised Sora for sparking a wave of industry investment in AI video, but he argued that such high‑risk work needs a research environment separate from OpenAI’s core product roadmap. A day later, Wired reported that Srinivas Narayanan, OpenAI’s chief technology officer for enterprise applications, is also leaving to spend more time with family.

Why OpenAI is cutting side quests

The exits come amid a broader strategic shift at OpenAI toward enterprise AI and a forthcoming “superapp” that will bundle its flagship models into a single consumer offering. Projects that did not fit this tighter focus—most notably Sora and the OpenAI for Science team—have been labeled “side quests” and are being folded back into core research groups or shut down entirely.

OpenAI for Science, the internal group that built the Prism platform to accelerate scientific discovery, is being absorbed into other research teams. The move follows a rocky rollout that began with an October 2025 announcement, a controversial tweet from Weil claiming GPT‑5 solved ten Erdős problems, and a swift correction after the claim was debunked by the curator of erdosproblems.com.

Impact on ongoing research projects

Weil’s team released GPT‑Rosalind just before his departure. The model is designed to speed up life‑science research and drug discovery, positioning OpenAI as a potential partner for biotech firms. With the OpenAI for Science umbrella being dismantled, GPT‑Rosalind will likely continue under a different internal umbrella, but its future roadmap may be realigned to serve the company’s enterprise priorities.

Sora’s shutdown also has ripple effects. While the product itself is gone, Peebles noted that it “ignited a huge amount of investment in video across the industry.” Start‑ups and larger firms that were courting OpenAI’s video‑generation capabilities will now need to look elsewhere or build their own pipelines, potentially slowing the rapid adoption of AI‑generated video in advertising and entertainment.

What’s next for OpenAI

The company is doubling down on its enterprise AI push, aiming to integrate its large language models, image generators, and other capabilities into a unified superapp for business users. Executives suggest that consolidating talent and resources will accelerate this roadmap and improve profitability after a period of heavy spending on experimental projects.

Observers will watch how OpenAI reallocates the research talent from the dissolved side quests. If the remaining teams can translate breakthroughs like GPT‑Rosalind into marketable enterprise solutions, the firm may offset the loss of high‑profile projects while still maintaining a foothold in cutting‑edge AI research.

• Kevin Weil – former head of OpenAI for Science, led GPT‑Rosalind release
• Bill Peebles – researcher behind AI video tool Sora
• Srinivas Narayanan – former CTO of enterprise applications at OpenAI
• Sora – AI video generation tool shut down in early 2024
• GPT‑Rosalind – model targeting life‑science research and drug discovery