Parents Question Cause of OpenAI Whistleblower's Death

The family of Suchir Balaji who is a 26-year-old OpenAI whistleblower is questioning the cause of his death. Balaji was found dead in his San Francisco apartment on November 26. The Medical Examiner ruled his death a suicide stating there was no evidence of foul play.

Balaji's parents Poornima Ramarao and Balaji Ramamurthy do not believe this conclusion. They hired an independent investigator to conduct another autopsy. They expressed concerns about the circumstances surrounding their son’s death.

Suchir Balaji worked at OpenAI for almost four years before resigning in August. He played a key role in developing some of the company's products. A co-founder described him as one of the most valuable contributors to the organization.

In August, Balaji accused OpenAI of violating U.S. copyright laws while creating ChatGPT. His claims were expected to influence legal cases against the company. OpenAI responded to his death, stating they were heartbroken and offered condolences to his family.

Balaji grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. He joined OpenAI as a summer intern in 2018 while studying computer science at the University of California, Berkeley. He later became a full-time employee and contributed to innovative projects like WebGPT that is a forerunner to ChatGPT.