# The 169-Million-View Resignation
_Jacob Coxon left Anthropic and the post passed 169 million views. The warning is the business. The next lab raises on it._
**Published:** 2026-09-21
**Source:** https://www.startuphub.ai/ai-news/artificial-intelligence/2026/the-169-million-view-resignation
---
On the evening of September 8th, [Jacob Coxon](/people/jacob-coxon), a 27-year-old who spent three years doing pretraining research at [OpenAI](/startups/openai) and [Anthropic](/startups/anthropic), posted: "I resigned from Anthropic today... They are racing straight to self-improving superintelligence and gambling with our lives."

It went from 2,600 followers to 100 million views. In the tracker: nearly 79 million views, then more than 125 million, then 144 million, then 169 million. More than 170 million times viewed.

That is not organic reach. The Wall Street Journal exclusive quoting the resignation went up 18 minutes before his thread. A group chat of about ten people, including the founder of Encode, helped push the post out afterward.

Elon Musk retweeted a post recording the surprisingly high engagement and wrote "Seems like a setup". Skepticism is still amplification.

Coxon is not an outlier. He is the most optimized version of a five-year-old transaction. [StartupHub wrote up the resignation](/ai-news/artificial-intelligence/2026/anthropic-researcher-jacob-coxon-quits) when he posted it. The chart below is the rest of the pattern: 20 names, from the 2020 split through this month.

  
    Archived Signal // 2021-2026
    The Engineered Grandstanding Economy
    

Complete roster 2021-2026. 20 profiles. Left column is identity, middle is the signal, right is the quit-to-raise timeline. Hover any row for the citation.

    
      ** Quit
      ** Raise / newco
      ** Warning / viral
    
  
  
    Profile / Origin
    Signal · Legitimacy · Capital
    
      Gantt · Quit → Raise / Media
      202120222023202420252026
    
  
  
    
      

![](https://bsmromhjxdnndenlrpgx.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/post-images/editorial/the-169-million-view-resignation/dario-amodei.webp)

      
        [Dario Amodei](/people/dario-amodei)
        Anthropic CEO
        OpenAI → Anthropic • Dec 2020
      
    
    $124M → $380B · Seed Jan 2021 to $61.5B val 2025
    
      QUITAnthropic $124M → $61.5B
      Left OpenAI Dec 2020, founded Anthropic Jan 2021. $124M Series A → $3.5B at $61.5B (Mar 2025).
    
  
    
      

![](https://bsmromhjxdnndenlrpgx.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/post-images/editorial/the-169-million-view-resignation/daniela-amodei.webp)

      
        [Daniela Amodei](/people/daniela-amodei)
        Anthropic President
        OpenAI → Anthropic • Dec 2020
      
    
    $124M → $380B · Co-founder track
    
      QUITAnthropic build
      Left OpenAI Dec 2020 with Dario, Co-founded Anthropic Jan 2021 as President.
    
  
    
      

![](https://bsmromhjxdnndenlrpgx.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/post-images/editorial/the-169-million-view-resignation/geoffrey-hinton.webp)

      
        [Geoffrey Hinton](/people/geoffrey-hinton)
        Godfather of AI
        Google → Warning Tour • May 2023
      
    
    “Profound risks to society”
    
      QUITWarning tour 2023-2026
      Left Google May 2023 to speak freely on existential risk. NYT interview, no new raise.
    
  
    
      

![](https://bsmromhjxdnndenlrpgx.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/post-images/editorial/the-169-million-view-resignation/yann-lecun.webp)

      
        [Yann LeCun](/people/yann-lecun)
        Chief AI Scientist
        Meta → New Startup • Nov 2025
      
    
    Early talks · World models lab
    
      QUITNewco fundraising
      Leaving Meta Nov 2025 for new world-models startup. Early fundraising talks reported.
    
  
    
      

![](https://bsmromhjxdnndenlrpgx.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/post-images/editorial/the-169-million-view-resignation/fei-fei-li.webp)

      
        [Fei-Fei Li](/people/fei-fei-li)
        World Labs CEO
        Stanford → World Labs • 2024
      
    
    $230M → $1B · Spatial intelligence
    
      QUITWorld Labs $230M → $1B
      Left Stanford 2024, founded World Labs: $230M seed (a16z) → $1B valuation.
    
  
    
      

![](https://bsmromhjxdnndenlrpgx.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/post-images/editorial/the-169-million-view-resignation/yoshua-bengio.webp)

      
        [Yoshua Bengio](/people/yoshua-bengio)
        LawZero Founder
        Mila → LawZero • Jun 3 2025
      
    
    $30M · Schmidt, Tallinn, OpenPhil
    
      QUITLawZero $30M
      Launched LawZero June 3 2025 - $30M from Eric Schmidt, Tallinn, Open Philanthropy.
    
  
    
      

![](https://bsmromhjxdnndenlrpgx.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/post-images/editorial/the-169-million-view-resignation/ilya-sutskever.webp)

      
        [Ilya Sutskever](/people/ilya-sutskever)
        SSI Founder
        OpenAI → SSI • May 14 2024
      
    
    $1B → $2B · $5B → $32B valSuperintelligence focus
    
      QUITSSI $1B at $5BSSI $2B at $32B
      Left OpenAI May 14 2024. SSI founded June 19 2024 → $1B at $5B (Sept 2024) → $2B at $32B (Apr 2025).
    
  
    
      

![](https://bsmromhjxdnndenlrpgx.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/post-images/editorial/the-169-million-view-resignation/jan-leike.webp)

      
        [Jan Leike](/people/jan-leike)
        Alignment Lead
        OpenAI → Anthropic • May 2024
      
    
    Superalignment co-lead exit
    
      QUITAnthropic alignment
      Left OpenAI May 2024 as Superalignment co-lead (with Ilya), joined Anthropic.
    
  
    
      

![](https://bsmromhjxdnndenlrpgx.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/post-images/editorial/the-169-million-view-resignation/leopold-aschenbrenner.webp)

      
        [Leopold Aschenbrenner](/people/leopold-aschenbrenner)
        Situational Awareness
        OpenAI → Hedge Fund • Apr 2024
      
    
    Fired, Superalignment$45B AUM peak
    
      QUITSituational Awareness → $45B
      Fired Apr 2024 from Superalignment. Published Situational Awareness, fund hit $45B AUM peak.
    
  
    
      

![](https://bsmromhjxdnndenlrpgx.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/post-images/editorial/the-169-million-view-resignation/william-saunders.webp)

      
        William Saunders
        Safety Researcher
        OpenAI → Letter • Feb 2024
      
    
    Safety letter
    
      QUIT
      Left OpenAI Feb 2024, signed safety letter on risk culture.
    
  
    
      

![](https://bsmromhjxdnndenlrpgx.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/post-images/editorial/the-169-million-view-resignation/daniel-kokotajlo.webp)

      
        [Daniel Kokotajlo](/people/daniel-kokotajlo)
        Governance
        OpenAI → Lost Trust • Apr 2024
      
    
    “Lost trust”
    
      QUIT
      Left OpenAI Apr 2024 governance team - cited loss of trust in leadership.
    
  
    
      

![](https://bsmromhjxdnndenlrpgx.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/post-images/editorial/the-169-million-view-resignation/john-schulman.webp)

      
        [John Schulman](/people/john-schulman)
        Co-founder
        OpenAI → Anthropic → Exit • Aug 2024
      
    
    For alignment, left after 5mo
    
      QUITAnthropic 5 months
      Left OpenAI Aug 2024 for alignment, joined Anthropic, left after 5 months.
    
  
    
      

![](https://bsmromhjxdnndenlrpgx.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/post-images/editorial/the-169-million-view-resignation/miles-brundage.webp)

      
        [Miles Brundage](/people/miles-brundage)
        AGI Readiness
        OpenAI → Publish Freely • Oct 2024
      
    
    Wants to publish freely
    
      QUIT
      Left OpenAI Oct 2024 AGI Readiness - wants ability to publish freely on risks.
    
  
    
      

![](https://bsmromhjxdnndenlrpgx.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/post-images/editorial/the-169-million-view-resignation/mira-murati.webp)

      
        [Mira Murati](/people/mira-murati)
        Thinking Machines CEO
        OpenAI → Thinking Machines • Sept 25 2024
      
    
    $2B at $12B · 30 staff, 2/3 ex-OpenAIFeb 18 2025 launch
    
      QUITThinking Machines $2B at $12B
      Left OpenAI Sept 25 2024. Founded Thinking Machines Feb 18 2025 → $2B at $12B, 30 staff 2/3 ex-OpenAI.
    
  
    
      

![](https://bsmromhjxdnndenlrpgx.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/post-images/editorial/the-169-million-view-resignation/mrinank-sharma.webp)

      
        Mrinank Sharma
        Safeguards Lead
        Anthropic → Exit • Feb 9 2026
      
    
    “World is in peril”
    
      QUITPeril warning
      Left Anthropic Feb 9 2026 Safeguards lead - quote: world is in peril.
    
  
    
      

![](https://bsmromhjxdnndenlrpgx.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/post-images/editorial/the-169-million-view-resignation/zo-hitzig.webp)

      
        [Zoë Hitzig](/people/zo-hitzig)
        Economics / Ads
        OpenAI → NYT Essay • Feb 2026
      
    
    Ad strategy concerns
    
      QUIT
      Left OpenAI Feb 2026 via NYT essay - ad strategy concerns.
    
  
    
      

![](https://bsmromhjxdnndenlrpgx.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/post-images/editorial/the-169-million-view-resignation/jacob-coxon.webp)

      
        [Jacob Coxon](/people/jacob-coxon)
        Anthropic Safety
        Anthropic → Viral Warning • Sept 8 2026
      
    
    “Gambling with our lives”169M views
    
      QUIT169M views viral
      Left Anthropic Sept 8 2026 - quote: gambling with our lives - 2,600 → 169M views - 10-person signal group, 18 min WSJ lead.
    
  
    
      

![](https://bsmromhjxdnndenlrpgx.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/post-images/editorial/the-169-million-view-resignation/joe-benton.webp)

      
        Joe Benton
        Scalable Oversight
        Anthropic → METR • Aug 2026
      
    
    Safety lead → METR
    
      QUITMETR Sept 11 2026
      Left Anthropic Aug 2026 safety lead Scalable Oversight → METR Sept 11 2026.
    
  
    
      

![](https://bsmromhjxdnndenlrpgx.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/post-images/editorial/the-169-million-view-resignation/josh-engels.webp)

      
        Josh Engels
        AGI Safety
        DeepMind → METR • Aug 2026
      
    
    “No adults in the room”
    
      QUITMETR Sept 12 2026
      Left DeepMind AGI safety Aug 2026 → METR Sept 12 2026 - quote: no adults in the room.
    
  
    
      

![](https://bsmromhjxdnndenlrpgx.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/post-images/editorial/the-169-million-view-resignation/jeff-dean.webp)

      
        [Jeff Dean](/people/jeff-dean)
        Google SVP
        Google → Discovery Loop • 27yrs
      
    
    Automating science
    
      QUITDiscovery Loop
      Leaving Google after 27 years → Discovery Loop automating science.
    
  
  

Hover a bar for the citation. Red is the exit. Cyan is the raise. Magenta is the warning tour.

  
    Archived Signal // 2021-2026
    The Engineered Grandstanding Economy
    

Complete roster 2021-2026. 20 profiles. Left column is identity, middle is the signal, right is the quit-to-raise timeline. Hover any row for the citation.

    
      ** Quit
      ** Raise / newco
      ** Warning / viral
    
  
  
    Profile / Origin
    Signal · Legitimacy · Capital
    
      Gantt · Quit → Raise / Media
      202120222023202420252026
    
  
  
    
      

![](https://bsmromhjxdnndenlrpgx.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/post-images/editorial/the-169-million-view-resignation/dario-amodei.webp)

      
        [Dario Amodei](/people/dario-amodei)
        Anthropic CEO
        OpenAI → Anthropic • Dec 2020
      
    
    $124M → $380B · Seed Jan 2021 to $61.5B val 2025
    
      QUITAnthropic $124M → $61.5B
      Left OpenAI Dec 2020, founded Anthropic Jan 2021. $124M Series A → $3.5B at $61.5B (Mar 2025).
    
  
    
      

![](https://bsmromhjxdnndenlrpgx.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/post-images/editorial/the-169-million-view-resignation/daniela-amodei.webp)

      
        [Daniela Amodei](/people/daniela-amodei)
        Anthropic President
        OpenAI → Anthropic • Dec 2020
      
    
    $124M → $380B · Co-founder track
    
      QUITAnthropic build
      Left OpenAI Dec 2020 with Dario, Co-founded Anthropic Jan 2021 as President.
    
  
    
      

![](https://bsmromhjxdnndenlrpgx.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/post-images/editorial/the-169-million-view-resignation/geoffrey-hinton.webp)

      
        [Geoffrey Hinton](/people/geoffrey-hinton)
        Godfather of AI
        Google → Warning Tour • May 2023
      
    
    “Profound risks to society”
    
      QUITWarning tour 2023-2026
      Left Google May 2023 to speak freely on existential risk. NYT interview, no new raise.
    
  
    
      

![](https://bsmromhjxdnndenlrpgx.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/post-images/editorial/the-169-million-view-resignation/yann-lecun.webp)

      
        [Yann LeCun](/people/yann-lecun)
        Chief AI Scientist
        Meta → New Startup • Nov 2025
      
    
    Early talks · World models lab
    
      QUITNewco fundraising
      Leaving Meta Nov 2025 for new world-models startup. Early fundraising talks reported.
    
  
    
      

![](https://bsmromhjxdnndenlrpgx.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/post-images/editorial/the-169-million-view-resignation/fei-fei-li.webp)

      
        [Fei-Fei Li](/people/fei-fei-li)
        World Labs CEO
        Stanford → World Labs • 2024
      
    
    $230M → $1B · Spatial intelligence
    
      QUITWorld Labs $230M → $1B
      Left Stanford 2024, founded World Labs: $230M seed (a16z) → $1B valuation.
    
  
    
      

![](https://bsmromhjxdnndenlrpgx.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/post-images/editorial/the-169-million-view-resignation/yoshua-bengio.webp)

      
        [Yoshua Bengio](/people/yoshua-bengio)
        LawZero Founder
        Mila → LawZero • Jun 3 2025
      
    
    $30M · Schmidt, Tallinn, OpenPhil
    
      QUITLawZero $30M
      Launched LawZero June 3 2025 - $30M from Eric Schmidt, Tallinn, Open Philanthropy.
    
  
    
      

![](https://bsmromhjxdnndenlrpgx.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/post-images/editorial/the-169-million-view-resignation/ilya-sutskever.webp)

      
        [Ilya Sutskever](/people/ilya-sutskever)
        SSI Founder
        OpenAI → SSI • May 14 2024
      
    
    $1B → $2B · $5B → $32B valSuperintelligence focus
    
      QUITSSI $1B at $5BSSI $2B at $32B
      Left OpenAI May 14 2024. SSI founded June 19 2024 → $1B at $5B (Sept 2024) → $2B at $32B (Apr 2025).
    
  
    
      

![](https://bsmromhjxdnndenlrpgx.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/post-images/editorial/the-169-million-view-resignation/jan-leike.webp)

      
        [Jan Leike](/people/jan-leike)
        Alignment Lead
        OpenAI → Anthropic • May 2024
      
    
    Superalignment co-lead exit
    
      QUITAnthropic alignment
      Left OpenAI May 2024 as Superalignment co-lead (with Ilya), joined Anthropic.
    
  
    
      

![](https://bsmromhjxdnndenlrpgx.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/post-images/editorial/the-169-million-view-resignation/leopold-aschenbrenner.webp)

      
        [Leopold Aschenbrenner](/people/leopold-aschenbrenner)
        Situational Awareness
        OpenAI → Hedge Fund • Apr 2024
      
    
    Fired, Superalignment$45B AUM peak
    
      QUITSituational Awareness → $45B
      Fired Apr 2024 from Superalignment. Published Situational Awareness, fund hit $45B AUM peak.
    
  
    
      

![](https://bsmromhjxdnndenlrpgx.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/post-images/editorial/the-169-million-view-resignation/william-saunders.webp)

      
        William Saunders
        Safety Researcher
        OpenAI → Letter • Feb 2024
      
    
    Safety letter
    
      QUIT
      Left OpenAI Feb 2024, signed safety letter on risk culture.
    
  
    
      

![](https://bsmromhjxdnndenlrpgx.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/post-images/editorial/the-169-million-view-resignation/daniel-kokotajlo.webp)

      
        [Daniel Kokotajlo](/people/daniel-kokotajlo)
        Governance
        OpenAI → Lost Trust • Apr 2024
      
    
    “Lost trust”
    
      QUIT
      Left OpenAI Apr 2024 governance team - cited loss of trust in leadership.
    
  
    
      

![](https://bsmromhjxdnndenlrpgx.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/post-images/editorial/the-169-million-view-resignation/john-schulman.webp)

      
        [John Schulman](/people/john-schulman)
        Co-founder
        OpenAI → Anthropic → Exit • Aug 2024
      
    
    For alignment, left after 5mo
    
      QUITAnthropic 5 months
      Left OpenAI Aug 2024 for alignment, joined Anthropic, left after 5 months.
    
  
    
      

![](https://bsmromhjxdnndenlrpgx.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/post-images/editorial/the-169-million-view-resignation/miles-brundage.webp)

      
        [Miles Brundage](/people/miles-brundage)
        AGI Readiness
        OpenAI → Publish Freely • Oct 2024
      
    
    Wants to publish freely
    
      QUIT
      Left OpenAI Oct 2024 AGI Readiness - wants ability to publish freely on risks.
    
  
    
      

![](https://bsmromhjxdnndenlrpgx.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/post-images/editorial/the-169-million-view-resignation/mira-murati.webp)

      
        [Mira Murati](/people/mira-murati)
        Thinking Machines CEO
        OpenAI → Thinking Machines • Sept 25 2024
      
    
    $2B at $12B · 30 staff, 2/3 ex-OpenAIFeb 18 2025 launch
    
      QUITThinking Machines $2B at $12B
      Left OpenAI Sept 25 2024. Founded Thinking Machines Feb 18 2025 → $2B at $12B, 30 staff 2/3 ex-OpenAI.
    
  
    
      

![](https://bsmromhjxdnndenlrpgx.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/post-images/editorial/the-169-million-view-resignation/mrinank-sharma.webp)

      
        Mrinank Sharma
        Safeguards Lead
        Anthropic → Exit • Feb 9 2026
      
    
    “World is in peril”
    
      QUITPeril warning
      Left Anthropic Feb 9 2026 Safeguards lead - quote: world is in peril.
    
  
    
      

![](https://bsmromhjxdnndenlrpgx.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/post-images/editorial/the-169-million-view-resignation/zo-hitzig.webp)

      
        [Zoë Hitzig](/people/zo-hitzig)
        Economics / Ads
        OpenAI → NYT Essay • Feb 2026
      
    
    Ad strategy concerns
    
      QUIT
      Left OpenAI Feb 2026 via NYT essay - ad strategy concerns.
    
  
    
      

![](https://bsmromhjxdnndenlrpgx.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/post-images/editorial/the-169-million-view-resignation/jacob-coxon.webp)

      
        [Jacob Coxon](/people/jacob-coxon)
        Anthropic Safety
        Anthropic → Viral Warning • Sept 8 2026
      
    
    “Gambling with our lives”169M views
    
      QUIT169M views viral
      Left Anthropic Sept 8 2026 - quote: gambling with our lives - 2,600 → 169M views - 10-person signal group, 18 min WSJ lead.
    
  
    
      

![](https://bsmromhjxdnndenlrpgx.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/post-images/editorial/the-169-million-view-resignation/joe-benton.webp)

      
        Joe Benton
        Scalable Oversight
        Anthropic → METR • Aug 2026
      
    
    Safety lead → METR
    
      QUITMETR Sept 11 2026
      Left Anthropic Aug 2026 safety lead Scalable Oversight → METR Sept 11 2026.
    
  
    
      

![](https://bsmromhjxdnndenlrpgx.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/post-images/editorial/the-169-million-view-resignation/josh-engels.webp)

      
        Josh Engels
        AGI Safety
        DeepMind → METR • Aug 2026
      
    
    “No adults in the room”
    
      QUITMETR Sept 12 2026
      Left DeepMind AGI safety Aug 2026 → METR Sept 12 2026 - quote: no adults in the room.
    
  
    
      

![](https://bsmromhjxdnndenlrpgx.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/post-images/editorial/the-169-million-view-resignation/jeff-dean.webp)

      
        [Jeff Dean](/people/jeff-dean)
        Google SVP
        Google → Discovery Loop • 27yrs
      
    
    Automating science
    
      QUITDiscovery Loop
      Leaving Google after 27 years → Discovery Loop automating science.
    
  
  

Hover a bar for the citation. Red is the exit. Cyan is the raise. Magenta is the warning tour.

  
    Archived Signal // 2021-2026
    The Engineered Grandstanding Economy
    

Complete roster 2021-2026. 20 profiles. Left column is identity, middle is the signal, right is the quit-to-raise timeline. Hover any row for the citation.

    
      ** Quit
      ** Raise / newco
      ** Warning / viral
    
  
  
    Profile / Origin
    Signal · Legitimacy · Capital
    Gantt · Quit → Raise / Media
  
  202120222023202420252026
  
    
      

![](https://bsmromhjxdnndenlrpgx.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/post-images/editorial/the-169-million-view-resignation/dario-amodei.webp)

      
        [Dario Amodei](/people/dario-amodei)
        Anthropic CEO
        OpenAI → Anthropic • Dec 2020
      
    
    $124M → $380B · Seed Jan 2021 to $61.5B val 2025
    
      QUITAnthropic $124M → $61.5B
      Left OpenAI Dec 2020, founded Anthropic Jan 2021. $124M Series A → $3.5B at $61.5B (Mar 2025).
    
  
    
      

![](https://bsmromhjxdnndenlrpgx.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/post-images/editorial/the-169-million-view-resignation/daniela-amodei.webp)

      
        [Daniela Amodei](/people/daniela-amodei)
        Anthropic President
        OpenAI → Anthropic • Dec 2020
      
    
    $124M → $380B · Co-founder track
    
      QUITAnthropic build
      Left OpenAI Dec 2020 with Dario, Co-founded Anthropic Jan 2021 as President.
    
  
    
      

![](https://bsmromhjxdnndenlrpgx.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/post-images/editorial/the-169-million-view-resignation/geoffrey-hinton.webp)

      
        [Geoffrey Hinton](/people/geoffrey-hinton)
        Godfather of AI
        Google → Warning Tour • May 2023
      
    
    “Profound risks to society”
    
      QUITWarning tour 2023-2026
      Left Google May 2023 to speak freely on existential risk. NYT interview, no new raise.
    
  
    
      

![](https://bsmromhjxdnndenlrpgx.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/post-images/editorial/the-169-million-view-resignation/yann-lecun.webp)

      
        [Yann LeCun](/people/yann-lecun)
        Chief AI Scientist
        Meta → New Startup • Nov 2025
      
    
    Early talks · World models lab
    
      QUITNewco fundraising
      Leaving Meta Nov 2025 for new world-models startup. Early fundraising talks reported.
    
  
    
      

![](https://bsmromhjxdnndenlrpgx.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/post-images/editorial/the-169-million-view-resignation/fei-fei-li.webp)

      
        [Fei-Fei Li](/people/fei-fei-li)
        World Labs CEO
        Stanford → World Labs • 2024
      
    
    $230M → $1B · Spatial intelligence
    
      QUITWorld Labs $230M → $1B
      Left Stanford 2024, founded World Labs: $230M seed (a16z) → $1B valuation.
    
  
    
      

![](https://bsmromhjxdnndenlrpgx.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/post-images/editorial/the-169-million-view-resignation/yoshua-bengio.webp)

      
        [Yoshua Bengio](/people/yoshua-bengio)
        LawZero Founder
        Mila → LawZero • Jun 3 2025
      
    
    $30M · Schmidt, Tallinn, OpenPhil
    
      QUITLawZero $30M
      Launched LawZero June 3 2025 - $30M from Eric Schmidt, Tallinn, Open Philanthropy.
    
  
    
      

![](https://bsmromhjxdnndenlrpgx.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/post-images/editorial/the-169-million-view-resignation/ilya-sutskever.webp)

      
        [Ilya Sutskever](/people/ilya-sutskever)
        SSI Founder
        OpenAI → SSI • May 14 2024
      
    
    $1B → $2B · $5B → $32B valSuperintelligence focus
    
      QUITSSI $1B at $5BSSI $2B at $32B
      Left OpenAI May 14 2024. SSI founded June 19 2024 → $1B at $5B (Sept 2024) → $2B at $32B (Apr 2025).
    
  
    
      

![](https://bsmromhjxdnndenlrpgx.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/post-images/editorial/the-169-million-view-resignation/jan-leike.webp)

      
        [Jan Leike](/people/jan-leike)
        Alignment Lead
        OpenAI → Anthropic • May 2024
      
    
    Superalignment co-lead exit
    
      QUITAnthropic alignment
      Left OpenAI May 2024 as Superalignment co-lead (with Ilya), joined Anthropic.
    
  
    
      

![](https://bsmromhjxdnndenlrpgx.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/post-images/editorial/the-169-million-view-resignation/leopold-aschenbrenner.webp)

      
        [Leopold Aschenbrenner](/people/leopold-aschenbrenner)
        Situational Awareness
        OpenAI → Hedge Fund • Apr 2024
      
    
    Fired, Superalignment$45B AUM peak
    
      QUITSituational Awareness → $45B
      Fired Apr 2024 from Superalignment. Published Situational Awareness, fund hit $45B AUM peak.
    
  
    
      

![](https://bsmromhjxdnndenlrpgx.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/post-images/editorial/the-169-million-view-resignation/william-saunders.webp)

      
        William Saunders
        Safety Researcher
        OpenAI → Letter • Feb 2024
      
    
    Safety letter
    
      QUIT
      Left OpenAI Feb 2024, signed safety letter on risk culture.
    
  
    
      

![](https://bsmromhjxdnndenlrpgx.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/post-images/editorial/the-169-million-view-resignation/daniel-kokotajlo.webp)

      
        [Daniel Kokotajlo](/people/daniel-kokotajlo)
        Governance
        OpenAI → Lost Trust • Apr 2024
      
    
    “Lost trust”
    
      QUIT
      Left OpenAI Apr 2024 governance team - cited loss of trust in leadership.
    
  
    
      

![](https://bsmromhjxdnndenlrpgx.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/post-images/editorial/the-169-million-view-resignation/john-schulman.webp)

      
        [John Schulman](/people/john-schulman)
        Co-founder
        OpenAI → Anthropic → Exit • Aug 2024
      
    
    For alignment, left after 5mo
    
      QUITAnthropic 5 months
      Left OpenAI Aug 2024 for alignment, joined Anthropic, left after 5 months.
    
  
    
      

![](https://bsmromhjxdnndenlrpgx.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/post-images/editorial/the-169-million-view-resignation/miles-brundage.webp)

      
        [Miles Brundage](/people/miles-brundage)
        AGI Readiness
        OpenAI → Publish Freely • Oct 2024
      
    
    Wants to publish freely
    
      QUIT
      Left OpenAI Oct 2024 AGI Readiness - wants ability to publish freely on risks.
    
  
    
      

![](https://bsmromhjxdnndenlrpgx.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/post-images/editorial/the-169-million-view-resignation/mira-murati.webp)

      
        [Mira Murati](/people/mira-murati)
        Thinking Machines CEO
        OpenAI → Thinking Machines • Sept 25 2024
      
    
    $2B at $12B · 30 staff, 2/3 ex-OpenAIFeb 18 2025 launch
    
      QUITThinking Machines $2B at $12B
      Left OpenAI Sept 25 2024. Founded Thinking Machines Feb 18 2025 → $2B at $12B, 30 staff 2/3 ex-OpenAI.
    
  
    
      

![](https://bsmromhjxdnndenlrpgx.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/post-images/editorial/the-169-million-view-resignation/mrinank-sharma.webp)

      
        Mrinank Sharma
        Safeguards Lead
        Anthropic → Exit • Feb 9 2026
      
    
    “World is in peril”
    
      QUITPeril warning
      Left Anthropic Feb 9 2026 Safeguards lead - quote: world is in peril.
    
  
    
      

![](https://bsmromhjxdnndenlrpgx.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/post-images/editorial/the-169-million-view-resignation/zo-hitzig.webp)

      
        [Zoë Hitzig](/people/zo-hitzig)
        Economics / Ads
        OpenAI → NYT Essay • Feb 2026
      
    
    Ad strategy concerns
    
      QUIT
      Left OpenAI Feb 2026 via NYT essay - ad strategy concerns.
    
  
    
      

![](https://bsmromhjxdnndenlrpgx.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/post-images/editorial/the-169-million-view-resignation/jacob-coxon.webp)

      
        [Jacob Coxon](/people/jacob-coxon)
        Anthropic Safety
        Anthropic → Viral Warning • Sept 8 2026
      
    
    “Gambling with our lives”169M views
    
      QUIT169M views viral
      Left Anthropic Sept 8 2026 - quote: gambling with our lives - 2,600 → 169M views - 10-person signal group, 18 min WSJ lead.
    
  
    
      

![](https://bsmromhjxdnndenlrpgx.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/post-images/editorial/the-169-million-view-resignation/joe-benton.webp)

      
        Joe Benton
        Scalable Oversight
        Anthropic → METR • Aug 2026
      
    
    Safety lead → METR
    
      QUITMETR Sept 11 2026
      Left Anthropic Aug 2026 safety lead Scalable Oversight → METR Sept 11 2026.
    
  
    
      

![](https://bsmromhjxdnndenlrpgx.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/post-images/editorial/the-169-million-view-resignation/josh-engels.webp)

      
        Josh Engels
        AGI Safety
        DeepMind → METR • Aug 2026
      
    
    “No adults in the room”
    
      QUITMETR Sept 12 2026
      Left DeepMind AGI safety Aug 2026 → METR Sept 12 2026 - quote: no adults in the room.
    
  
    
      

![](https://bsmromhjxdnndenlrpgx.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/post-images/editorial/the-169-million-view-resignation/jeff-dean.webp)

      
        [Jeff Dean](/people/jeff-dean)
        Google SVP
        Google → Discovery Loop • 27yrs
      
    
    Automating science
    
      QUITDiscovery Loop
      Leaving Google after 27 years → Discovery Loop automating science.
    
  
  

Hover a bar for the citation. Red is the exit. Cyan is the raise. Magenta is the warning tour.

[![](https://bsmromhjxdnndenlrpgx.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/post-images/editorial/the-169-million-view-resignation/daniel-kokotajlo.webp)

Daniel Kokotajlo](/people/daniel-kokotajlo)[![](https://bsmromhjxdnndenlrpgx.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/post-images/editorial/the-169-million-view-resignation/john-schulman.webp)

John Schulman](/people/john-schulman)[![](https://bsmromhjxdnndenlrpgx.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/post-images/editorial/the-169-million-view-resignation/miles-brundage.webp)

Miles Brundage](/people/miles-brundage)[![](https://bsmromhjxdnndenlrpgx.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/post-images/editorial/the-169-million-view-resignation/mira-murati.webp)

Mira Murati](/people/mira-murati)

![](https://bsmromhjxdnndenlrpgx.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/post-images/editorial/the-169-million-view-resignation/mrinank-sharma.webp)

Mrinank Sharma[![](https://bsmromhjxdnndenlrpgx.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/post-images/editorial/the-169-million-view-resignation/zo-hitzig.webp)

Zoë Hitzig](/people/zo-hitzig)[![](https://bsmromhjxdnndenlrpgx.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/post-images/editorial/the-169-million-view-resignation/jacob-coxon.webp)

Jacob Coxon](/people/jacob-coxon)

![](https://bsmromhjxdnndenlrpgx.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/post-images/editorial/the-169-million-view-resignation/joe-benton.webp)

Joe Benton

![](https://bsmromhjxdnndenlrpgx.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/post-images/editorial/the-169-million-view-resignation/josh-engels.webp)

Josh Engels[![](https://bsmromhjxdnndenlrpgx.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/post-images/editorial/the-169-million-view-resignation/jeff-dean.webp)

Jeff Dean](/people/jeff-dean)

## The business model

Work at a frontier lab. Quit with a viral warning that AI is out of control. Do the media tour. Convert the fear into capital for a new lab that promises to build the same system, but safely.

[Anthropic](/startups/anthropic) was the prototype. In December 2020, [Dario Amodei](/people/dario-amodei), his sister [Daniela](/people/daniela-amodei), and five others left OpenAI over directional differences and founded Anthropic to promote AI safety. Initial funding was $124 million. Last month the company closed a $30 billion Series G at a $380 billion valuation, more than double the $183 billion mark from five months earlier.

[Ilya Sutskever](/people/ilya-sutskever) left OpenAI on May 14, 2024, and founded [Safe Superintelligence Inc.](/startups/safe-superintelligence) on June 19 with Daniel Gross and Daniel Levy. That was 36 days later. The company raised $1 billion at a $5 billion valuation, then $2 billion at $32 billion.

[Mira Murati](/people/mira-murati) left as CTO on Sept. 25, 2024. She launched [Thinking Machines Lab](/startups/thinking-machines-lab) on Feb. 18, 2025, with about 30 researchers, roughly two-thirds of them ex-OpenAI, and raised $2 billion at a $12 billion valuation.

[Yoshua Bengio](/people/yoshua-bengio) launched the nonprofit version. LawZero says it will advance research for safe-by-design AI systems. It launched with $30 million in philanthropic funding from Jaan Tallinn, Eric Schmidt, Open Philanthropy, and the Future of Life Institute.

The Superalignment team that was supposed to keep superintelligence aligned no longer exists. [Jan Leike](/people/jan-leike), who led it, left in May 2024. [Miles Brundage](/people/miles-brundage), who led AGI readiness, left that October. Andrea Vallone left a year after. The Mission Alignment team disbanded in February 2026. Bob McGrew and Barret Zoph left with Murati in September 2024. The whistleblower letter that followed the safety exits said: "We joined OpenAI because we wanted to ensure the safety of the incredibly powerful AI systems the company is developing. But we resigned from OpenAI because we lost trust that it would safely, honestly, and responsibly develop its AI systems." Signatories included William Saunders, [Daniel Kokotajlo](/people/daniel-kokotajlo), Carroll Wainwright, Jacob Hilton, and Daniel Ziegler.

[John Schulman](/people/john-schulman) left for Anthropic to deepen his focus on AI alignment, then left Anthropic five months later. [Leopold Aschenbrenner](/people/leopold-aschenbrenner), fired in April 2024, turned the essay into Situational Awareness LP, a hedge fund that reached $45 billion in assets at its peak.

[Fei-Fei Li](/people/fei-fei-li) raised $230 million in stealth for [World Labs](/startups/world-labs), then $1 billion. [Yann LeCun](/people/yann-lecun) is leaving Meta to found his own world-models startup while Meta rebuilds its AI unit as Superintelligence Labs under Alexandr Wang, former CEO of [Scale AI](/startups/scale-ai), after putting $14.3 billion into Scale.

The newest variant skips the new lab. Joe Benton headed a safety team at Anthropic. Josh Engels worked at [Google DeepMind](/startups/deepmind). Both quit in late August to join METR, the independent evaluator, telling NBC there are "no adults in the room." No raise this time. Just the auditor.

## The pundit class that makes it pay

The voices that amplify the warning are holding the cap table.

Former President Barack Obama joined the chorus, saying the technology could be dangerous if it is not managed, and that it is moving very fast in private hands. He urged Democrats to make AI regulation the heart of their agenda. That is the cartel Sam Altman and Dario Amodei have asked for, framed as a way of reining them in.

The billionaires warning the loudest are investors in the labs they say need regulation.

**Eric Schmidt** is an investor in Anthropic and has talked up the Amazon-Anthropic partnership. In the 2021 Series A the named investors were Jaan Tallinn as lead, Dustin Moskovitz, Eric Schmidt, and James McClave.

**Bill Gates and Eric Schmidt** were notable investors in [Inflection AI](/startups/inflection-ai), alongside Microsoft. That round raised more than a billion dollars at a $4 billion valuation.

**Reid Hoffman**, LinkedIn's co-founder, was an early Anthropic investor and has issued the same kind of warning. He also visited Epstein's island in 2014 for MIT Media Lab fundraising.

**Jaan Tallinn, Dustin Moskovitz, and the Patrick McGovern Foundation** show up in the safety-fund announcements, the Series A, and the open letters about existential risk.

This is why the fear pays. Frontier labs are under commercial pressure to build more powerful systems, and the warnings from Anthropic's CEO and OpenAI's CEO have unsettled investors who already poured billions into the companies that were supposed to benefit. Stocks dip. Then the lab that calls itself the responsible one raises $30 billion at $380 billion. OpenAI, in the same season, announced a $110 billion round, one of the largest private financings on record, at a $730 billion valuation. While Coxon's thread was passing 144 million views, Anthropic was closing the $30 billion round. The same month it removed its flagship safety pledge, the commitment to pause training if capabilities outran the safeguards.

The transaction is a closed loop. An insider supplies the legitimacy. A ten-person group chat and an 18-minute Wall Street Journal lead supply the amplification. Investor-philanthropists validate the danger. The round prices at double the last valuation.

148 million impressions is not 148 million people worried about human extinction. An impression is counted every time a post scrolls past. Next time a grandiose resignation shows up, check the cap table first. The new safe lab is already incorporated.
---
Original analysis from [startuphub.ai](https://www.startuphub.ai), the #1 AI startup directory.