One of Harvard's youngest Chinese full professors, Yin Xi, leaves OpenAI after only 5 months

Another top Chinese researcher bids farewell to OpenAI after only 5 months on the job

Zhidongxi Download the app for exclusive early access November 04, 2026 14:35:45 From Beijing

Zhidongxi reported on November 4 that yesterday, Xi Yin, who came from the University of Science and Technology of China's Special Class for the Gifted Young and once served as one of the youngest Chinese full professors in Harvard University's history, posted on the social platform X announcing his departure from OpenAI. He wrote: "I have decided to end this journey early and explore new directions."

In addition, he specifically thanked Alex Lupsasca (a research scientist at OpenAI) and Boris Alexeev (a researcher at OpenAI), saying the two helped him adapt to the first corporate job of his life, and thanked Dan Roberts (a scientist at OpenAI) for his ongoing support. Finally, he said: "I'll always be cheering everyone on!"

At the end of May this year, people familiar with the matter spread the news that Xi Yin had joined OpenAI, and one day before that, another Chinese scholar, Weijie Su, had also officially announced joining the company.

During his time at OpenAI, Xi Yin did not stop his physics research, but continued to explore the intersection of AI and theoretical physics, participating in advancing AI-assisted research related to string theory and quantum field theory, and in October, in his capacity as "Harvard University/OpenAI," presented related results at Kyoto University, including a new numerical method for computing high-genus string amplitudes and a compressed approximation of the ground-state wavefunction of BFSS matrix theory.

At present, he has not yet announced his next career plans.

1. Word of joining spread at the end of May; two Chinese scholars enter OpenAI together

Xi Yin's early educational experience has attracted considerable attention. He was the youngest student in the University of Science and Technology of China's Special Class for the Gifted Young at the time. According to a September 16, 2015 report on the University of Science and Technology of China news website, in 1996, at just 12 years old, he was admitted to USTC's Special Class for the Gifted Young with a score of 572.

In 2001, at age 17, Xi Yin completed USTC's five-year undergraduate program, then went to Harvard University in the United States to pursue a doctorate in physics, obtaining his PhD in 2006. Two years later, he joined the Harvard Department of Physics faculty, serving successively as assistant professor and associate professor.

In September 2015, at age 31, Xi Yin was promoted to full professor in the Harvard Department of Physics, becoming one of the youngest Chinese full professors in Harvard University's history.

▲Xi Yin's personal introduction page on the Harvard University official website, image source: Harvard University official website

After that, Xi Yin conducted research in theoretical physics for a long time, with research directions mainly involving string theory and quantum gravity. It was not until the end of May this year that his career trajectory showed a change, with word spreading that he had joined OpenAI.

On May 30, the X account @dinq_me posted that Xi Yin had left Harvard University and joined OpenAI. However, the news was not confirmed at the time by Xi Yin himself, Harvard University, or OpenAI officially.

One day before word spread that Xi Yin was joining OpenAI, another Chinese scholar, Weijie Su, also officially announced joining the company.

Weijie Su graduated in 2011 from the School of Mathematical Sciences at Peking University and obtained a doctorate in statistics from Stanford University in 2016. His research directions include statistical machine learning, high-dimensional statistical inference, large-scale multiple testing, optimization, and privacy-preserving data analysis.

On May 30, Weijie Su posted on the social platform X announcing that he had joined OpenAI. He said he was currently on leave from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, had joined OpenAI to participate in AI model training, and was very happy to return to the San Francisco Bay Area after 10 years.

At the same time, Weijie Su also announced his promotion to full professor in the Department of Statistics and Data Science at Wharton. OpenAI co-founder and president Greg Brockman also left a comment in the comments section of his post welcoming him.

2. An academic talent crosses over into OpenAI, leaving after only half a year

Xi Yin has long studied string theory and quantum gravity, and his research directions also involve fields such as black holes and conformal field theory.

According to information on the University of Science and Technology of China official website, after Xi Yin obtained his doctorate in physics from Harvard University in 2006, he continued to do postdoctoral research at Harvard, and from 2008 served successively as assistant professor and associate professor in the Harvard Department of Physics, and was promoted to full professor in 2015.

In 2017, Xi Yin and Simone Giombi jointly won the Breakthrough Prize in Physics New Horizons award; the award-winning research involved higher-spin gravity and its holographic connection with solvable field theories.

▲Xi Yin receiving the 2017 New Horizons in Physics Prize, image source: Breakthrough Prize

During his time at OpenAI, Xi Yin participated in research at the intersection of AI and theoretical physics.

On October 16, in an academic report announced by the Yukawa Institute for Theoretical Physics at Kyoto University, Japan, Xi Yin, in his capacity as "Harvard University/OpenAI," presented multiple studies in string theory and quantum field theory completed with AI assistance, involving numerical computation of high-genus string amplitudes, approximation of the ground-state wavefunction of BFSS matrix theory, and Lean formal verification of mathematical theorems.

▲Xi Yin's academic report introducing research in string theory and quantum field theory, image source: Yukawa Institute for Theoretical Physics, Kyoto University

In addition, from October 19 to 23, 2026, the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics (KITP) at the University of California, Santa Barbara established an AI-theoretical physics intersection research program, Intermediate-Scale AI for Physics, listing Xi Yin as one of six coordinators. The program aims to promote exchanges between theoretical physicists and frontier AI laboratories, and explore how to further extend the capability progress AI models have achieved in mathematics to theoretical physics research.

In this departure announcement, Xi Yin called his experience joining OpenAI his first corporate job. He also said he hoped to end this experience early and explore new directions.

Conclusion: After leaving OpenAI, Xi Yin is still on the road ahead

From being admitted to the University of Science and Technology of China's Special Class for the Gifted Young at age 12, to becoming a full professor at Harvard University at 31, to crossing over to join OpenAI, every career choice of Xi Yin has attracted attention.

Now, Xi Yin has once again chosen to begin a new career journey.

Sources: Xi Yin, Harvard University official website, Weijie Su, University of Science and Technology of China news website, Breakthrough Prize, Yukawa Institute for Theoretical Physics at Kyoto University, and KITP

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