Brad Lightcap, OpenAI's chief operating officer and first business hire, is leaving after eight years to start a new venture. He built OpenAI's finance, legal, sales and partnership functions, growing its go-to-market team from about 50 people to more than 700. His exit leaves three of OpenAI's 11 co-founders and few original operators as the company prepares to list.

Aug 11 : Brad Lightcap, OpenAI's special projects lead, said on Tuesday he is leaving the AI startup to start a new venture.

Aug 11 : Senior OpenAI executive Brad Lightcap said on Tuesday he would leave the company to start a new venture, as the ChatGPT maker gears up to go public amid growing AI…