William Fedus, who served as Vice President of Post-Training at OpenAI, has announced his departure from the company to pursue AI applications in scientific research. In an internal memo to colleagues, Fedus explained his plans to focus specifically on developing AI systems for physics applications. Post-training involves optimizing pre-trained AI models through additional training methods. Recent advances in this field include using reinforcement learning to enhance models' capabilities in mathematics and coding.
Fedus joins a growing list of senior executives who have left OpenAI in 2024, including the company's Head of Technology Mira Murati and Chief Scientist Ilya Sutskever, who departed to launch their own ventures. However, Fedus emphasizes that his departure remains amicable - OpenAI plans to invest in his new startup, viewing advances in scientific AI as an important pathway toward achieving artificial superintelligence (ASI).
