OpenAI loses its longtime COO and business builder

brad lightcap, a six-year veteran of openai who served as both cfo and coo, announced tuesday he is leaving to 'start something new,' ending his tenure as the lab's longest-serving executive. lightcap previously built openai's core business units including finance, legal, and go-to-market teams before stepping down from the coo role earlier this year to lead special projects. this leadership exit follows high-level departures from agi chief fidji simo and sora lead bill peebles, signaling a major executive shakeup as the company prepares for a widely anticipated ipo.