Suchir Balaji, a former employee of OpenAI who was of Indian-American descent, was found dead in his San Francisco apartment, as reported by the city's Chief Medical Examiner.
Balaji was discovered deceased on November 26.
“The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) has identified the deceased as Suchir Balaji, 26 years old. The cause of death has been ruled as suicide. The OCME has contacted the next-of-kin and has no additional comments or reports for public release at this time,” it stated in a message to TechCrunch.
OpenAI expressed that they were "devastated" by the news of Balaji's passing.
“We are heartbroken to hear this extremely sad news today, and our thoughts are with Suchir's family during this challenging time,” a representative stated in an email to TechCrunch.
As reported by the website, authorities and emergency responders were summoned to the ex-OpenAI researcher's apartment on Buchanan Street in the Lower Haight area to conduct a wellness check on him that day. It was noted that no signs of foul play were observed.
Balaji stepped down in August after approximately four years with the startup based in San Francisco. In an interview with The New York Times in October, he mentioned that he left because “I no longer wished to be a part of technologies that I believe would inflict more harm on society than benefit.”
“If you share my views, you have to simply leave the company,” Balaji told the newspaper.
On November 25, the day before when his body was found, a court document named Balaji in a copyright lawsuit filed against OpenAI. The company and Microsoft, its primary investor, are currently facing multiple lawsuits from newspapers and media firms, including the New York Times, for alleged copyright infringement.
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