OpenAI announces new top executive hires

State of play: Friar, who was most recently Nextdoor's chief executive officer, will be focused on the mission of "providing continued investment in our core research capabilities," OpenAI said.

• She was previously a longtime CFO for payment company Square.

Weil, most recently president for product and business at satellite imagery company Planet Labs, will focus on applying research to products and services.

• He co-founded the Libra cryptocurrency and held leadership roles at Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

What they're saying: "Sarah and Kevin bring a depth of experience that will enable OpenAI to scale our operations, set a strategy for the next phase of growth, and ensure that our teams have the resources they need to continue to thrive," OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said in a statement.

• The company will continue to prioritize "conducting world-leading research, and using it as the foundation to build and safely deploy AI products," the announcement said.

Between the lines: Earlier this month, more than a dozen current and former OpenAI employees posted a public call for whistleblower protections at leading AI firms.

The big picture: OpenAI is looking to fend off competition from Big Tech companies and other ascending AI companies like Anthropic eager to overtake its lead in the generative artificial intelligence space.

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