Researchers Leave OpenAI, Anthropic With Dire Warnings
In the past few months, high-profile AI researchers and executives at OpenAI, Anthropic, and xAI have quit—and they aren’t leaving quietly. They’re raising red flags about safety risks, ethical dilemmas, and companies moving too fast in the race to monetize artificial intelligence.
Mrinank Sharma, head of Anthropic’s Safeguards Research team, posted a cryptic letter Tuesday warning that “the world is in peril.” He didn’t specify why he was leaving, but noted that “throughout my time here, I’ve repeatedly seen how hard it is to truly let our values govern our actions.”
Today is my last day at Anthropic. I resigned.
Here is the letter I shared with my colleagues, explaining my decision. pic.twitter.com/Qe4QyAFmxL
— mrinank (@MrinankSharma) February 9, 2026
On Wednesday, OpenAI researcher Zoë Hitzig resigned via a New York Times essay, citing “deep reservations” about the company’s emerging advertising strategy and ChatGPT’s potential for manipulating users. And at xAI, two co-founders quit within 24 hours this week. The hasty exits spotlight the growing tension between researchers worried about safety and executives eager to generate revenue.
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In the past few months, high-profile AI researchers and executives at OpenAI, Anthropic, and xAI have quit—and they aren’t leaving quietly. They’re raising red flags about safety risks, ethical dilemmas, and companies moving too fast in the race to monetize artificial intelligence.
Mrinank Sharma, head of Anthropic’s Safeguards Research team, posted a cryptic letter Tuesday warning that “the world is in peril.” He didn’t specify why he was leaving, but noted that “throughout my time here, I’ve repeatedly seen how hard it is to truly let our values govern our actions.”
Today is my last day at Anthropic. I resigned.
Here is the letter I shared with my colleagues, explaining my decision. pic.twitter.com/Qe4QyAFmxL
— mrinank (@MrinankSharma) February 9, 2026
On Wednesday, OpenAI researcher Zoë Hitzig resigned via a New York Times essay, citing “deep reservations” about the company’s emerging advertising strategy and ChatGPT’s potential for manipulating users. And at xAI, two co-founders quit within 24 hours this week. The hasty exits spotlight the growing tension between researchers worried about safety and executives eager to generate revenue.
Sign up for the Entrepreneur Daily newsletter to get the news and resources you need to know today to help you run your business better. Get it in your inbox.
