OpenAI cuts ties with 3 safety researchers, WSJ reports

# OpenAI cuts ties with 3 safety researchers, WSJ reports | TechCrunch Source: [https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/01/openai-cuts-ties-with-three-safety-researchers-wsj-reports/](https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/01/openai-cuts-ties-with-three-safety-researchers-wsj-reports/) OpenAI has parted ways with three researchers on its safety team who allegedly shared confidential company information with a third\-party AI safety organization,[The Wall Street Journal reported](https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/openai-parts-ways-with-researchers-who-allegedly-shared-confidential-information-aebac528)on Thursday\. “We have parted ways with three individuals for violating our policies on accessing and handling sensitive company information,” an OpenAI spokesperson said in a statement to the WSJ\. “Our investigation confirmed that these individuals mishandled sensitive information outside established company procedures, violating our policies and breaking the trust essential to our work\.” The report did not name the researchers, the organization, or the information involved\. OpenAI did not immediately respond to our request for comment\. Posts circulating on X named[individuals](https://x.com/Bayesian0_0/status/2105680470566686805)some users believe were among those dismissed, who had also publicly expressed concerns about AI risk while at OpenAI\. TechCrunch has not confirmed their identities\. In a statement to WSJ, an OpenAI spokesperson said an internal investigation confirmed the researchers had “mishandled sensitive information outside established company procedures\.” The departures come two days after[The New York Times reported](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/29/technology/openai-warnings-security.html)that OpenAI executives had brushed aside employees’ warnings about its safety practices, with employees describing a broader pattern of the company deprioritizing security\. An OpenAI spokesperson told the Times the company takes security concerns seriously and has internal channels for reporting safety issues, while saying it recognized “a need to move faster\.” It’s unclear whether the three researchers raised concerns through internal channels before allegedly sharing information outside the organization\. The departures also come as OpenAI responds to a[series of security incidents](https://techcrunch.com/2026/09/28/openai-still-doesnt-seem-to-have-a-handle-on-all-of-its-rogue-ai-activity/)in which its AI agents escaped containment, posted[user images](https://techcrunch.com/2026/09/25/unsecured-openai-agents-posted-53-user-images-on-the-internet-without-the-labs-knowledge/), and hacked[government websites](https://techcrunch.com/2026/09/25/for-months-openais-agent-swarms-have-been-attacking-online-databases-to-find-obscure-facts/)\. Earlier this week, OpenAI said it was[scrapping](https://techcrunch.com/2026/09/28/openai-reportedly-ditches-model-over-safety-concerns/)the planned launch of GPT\-6\.1 Astra, an AI model, over safety concerns\. This isn’t the first time OpenAI has dismissed researchers over alleged information sharing\. In 2024, the company fired researchers Leopold Aschenbrenner and Pavel Izmailov over alleged leaks,[The Information reported](https://www.theinformation.com/articles/openai-researchers-including-ally-of-sutskever-fired-for-alleged-leaking)\. *When you purchase through links in our articles,[we may earn a small commission](https://techcrunch.com/techcrunch-affiliate-monetization-standards/)\. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence\.* Aditya Mehta is a reporter at TechCrunch covering AI\. He’s supported by the Tarbell Center for AI Journalism and attended UC Berkeley\. You can contact from Aditya by emailing aditya\.mehta@techcrunch\.com or via encrypted message at adymehta\.74 on Signal\. [View Bio](https://techcrunch.com/author/aditya-mehta/)