OpenAI Whistleblower Loss of life ‘Case Closed,’ SFPD Says

• Suchir Balaji, an ex-OpenAI researcher who raised considerations about his employer, died in November.
• His mother and father have demanded a radical investigation into his demise.
• An post-mortem report stated authorities discovered a gun registered in Balaji’s identify.

San Francisco authorities stated a case involving the demise of a former OpenAI researcher in November is “closed,” citing, amongst different proof, a self-inflicted gunshot wound from a pistol registered to the sufferer, paperwork shared with Enterprise Insider present.

Suchir Balaji, an ex-OpenAI worker who final 12 months raised considerations about copyright points relating to his former employer, was discovered lifeless in his San Francisco house on November 26. He was 26 years previous.

Native authorities on the time dominated Balaji’s reason behind demise as an obvious suicide with no proof of foul play.

Balaji’s mom, Poornima Ramarao, beforehand advised BI that the household would search a personal post-mortem. Attorneys representing Balaji’s mother and father additionally filed a petition in opposition to the town and county of San Francisco in January, demanding the quick launch of public data associated to their son’s case.

In a joint letter to the household attorneys dated February 14 from the San Francisco Police Division and the medical expert’s workplace, authorities wrote that Balaji was discovered mendacity alone in his lavatory with no indicators of a “compelled entry to the one door main into the residence.”

Within the police’s investigative findings, the letter stated, a firearm was discovered beneath Balaji’s leg.

“The pistol discovered on the scene was bought and registered to Mr. Balaji in January 2024,” the letter stated.

Gun residue particles had been discovered on Balaji’s proper and left hand, the post-mortem report reads. The report stated Balaji sustained “a extreme firearm damage.”

“There have been no indicators of unrelated accidents or bruising to Mr. Balaji,” authorities wrote.

Authorities stated within the letter to the Balaji household’s attorneys that they’d seen the preliminary report from the impartial post-mortem the household sought and that the findings had been “constant” with the medical expert’s workplace’s findings, together with the doorway and trajectory of the bullet.

“The SFPD discovered no proof or data to ascertain that Mr. Balaji died of means apart from a suicide by self-inflicted gunshot wound to the pinnacle,” the letter from SFPD and medical expert’s workplace stated. “When you study of any new data or proof, please present it to SFPD. SFPD considers this case closed and can solely reopen the prison investigation if there’s a foundation for a rechargeable offense and the statute of limitations has not expired.”

Kevin Rooney, an lawyer representing Balaji’s mother and father, advised BI the household had acquired the letter and the post-mortem report. He didn’t have additional remark.

Balaji was an OpenAI researcher for 4 years, serving to the AI startup collect information for its GPT-4 mannequin. A former colleague advised BI in an interview that Balaji was instrumental in creating ChatGPT’s early predecessor.

“He was one of many true geniuses at OpenAI,” Tarun Gogineni, a analysis scientist at OpenAI, stated.

In October, just some months after Balaji left the corporate, The New York Instances printed an interview during which Balaji accused his former employer of violating copyright regulation.

OpenAI is concerned in a number of different authorized battles regarding copyright violations. On November 18, Balaji was named within the Instances’ lawsuit as a custodian who may present supporting authorized paperwork for the case.

An OpenAI spokesperson didn’t reply to a request for remark.

Balaji’s mom, Ramarao, beforehand advised BI she wasn’t glad with the police investigation. To boost consciousness about her son’s case, she organized public vigils and made a number of media appearances.

Ramarao wrote in a submit on X on Friday afternoon that she needed a “clear investigation.”

A spokesperson for the medical expert’s workplace didn’t handle Ramarao’s social media submit when responding to BI’s request for remark. An SFPD spokesperson didn’t reply to a request for remark.