Who is Srinivas Narayanan? US techie quits OpenAI, plans to return to India to spend time with ‘ageing parents’
Indian-origin technology leader Srinivas Narayanan, who has been serving as Chief Technology Officer of B2B Applications at OpenAI since September 2025, announced that he will leave the company next week. Based in San Francisco, he initially joined as VP of Engineering and is completing what he calls “three incredible years” at the AI startup led by Sam Altman.
“I have decided to leave OpenAI. The last three years have been an incredible journey that feels like a decade,” Narayanan wrote on social media platforms on Friday (US time). He also confirmed that he shared his decision with the OpenAI leadership team at the beginning of the month. Apart from announcing his big departure, Narayanan also hinted that he will return to India and spend “much-needed time” with his “aging parents” before embarking on a new professional journey.
“I look forward to spending some much-needed time with my aging family in India before deciding what comes next,” he added.
Who is Srinivas Narayanan?
Srinivas Narayanan is a technologist who completed his Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech) in Computer Science from the Madras Institute of Technology, India, between 1991 and 1995, according to his LinkedIn profile.
He then earned a Master of Science (MS) in Computer Science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison from 1995 to 1996.
Srinivas Narayanan began his career as a software engineer at IBM’s Almaden Research Center in 1997.
Before founding Viralizr in 2007, he served as Chief Technology Officer at Tavant Technologies, where he worked as CTO on consumer products focused on social collaboration.
In 2008, he joined Facebook (now Meta) as VP of Engineering, where he led large-scale engineering efforts for over a decade. Following his tenure there, he briefly worked on AI-related initiatives with General Catalyst before joining OpenAI as VP of Engineering in April 2023. At OpenAI, he led key areas such as the developer API platform ChatGPT and supporting infrastructure.
He was promoted to CTO of B2B Applications in September 2025, a position he held until his departure after more than three years with the company.
Netizens reacted
The post received strong engagement with 3,419 reactions, including likes, loves and support, as well as 151 comments and 4 reshares, with many wishing her well in her future endeavors.
A user wrote, “Sir, you will be coming to India for a while. I would love to meet you again. We last met in the summer of 2025 at IIT Madras. After that, I am working on some really cool projects and ideas. I would love to share them with you and get your feedback.”
I’ve decided to leave OpenAI. The last three years have been an incredible journey that has felt more like a decade.
I look forward to spending some much-needed time with my aging family in India before deciding what comes next.
Another wrote: “Congratulations and thank you for producing a great product. Great to hear you are spending time with your parents; cherish these priceless moments.”
Another user replied: “Wishing you all the best Srinivas Narayanan! What an epic run from GPT to Frontier. I thoroughly enjoyed reading your posts and in-depth technical articles. Can’t wait to see your next journey. I hope our paths cross soon.”
Key Takeaways
- Srinivas Narayanan emphasizes the importance of family and personal time amidst professional success.
- His career trajectory demonstrates a successful journey through major technology companies and highlights growth opportunities in the AI sector.
- The strong response from the community demonstrates the influence of leaders in the tech industry and the value placed on mentorship and connections.
