(Reuters) - Microsoft ( MSFT ) on Monday said that its vice president of GenAI research, Sebastien Bubeck, is leaving the company to join ChatGPT-maker OpenAI.

It was unclear what role Bubeck would assume at the Microsoft ( MSFT )-backed AI startup.

"Sebastian has decided to leave Microsoft ( MSFT ) to further his work toward developing AGI," a spokesperson for Microsoft ( MSFT ) said, adding that the company looks forward to continuing their relationship through Bubeck's work with OpenAI.

Bubeck did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for confirmation.

Most of Bubeck's coauthors who worked on a research paper on Microsoft's ( MSFT ) Phi LLMs, which are smaller than traditional large language models (LLMs), remain at Microsoft ( MSFT ) and plan to continue developing the models, according to the Information, which first reported his departure.

The development follows a series of departures from OpenAI, including that of longtime chief technology officer Mira Murati in September.

CEO Sam Altman has denied any link between the departures and a planned restructuring of the company.