US AI giant OpenAI on Friday (Jan 17) reacted to the death of whistleblower Suchir Balaji amid claims by his mother that the Indian-American techie may have been murdered. The 26-year-old was found dead in his San Francisco apartment in November, and local investigators closed the case saying it was an act of suicide.

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Suchir’s mother, Poornima Rao, recently appeared for an interview with American commentator Tucker Carlson, where she blamed the ChatGPT maker for her son’s death and demanded a probe by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

Reacting to Poornima’s comments, OpenAI said it was willing to cooperate with San Francisco Police Department if needed.

Also read: Elon Musk responds to interview of OpenAI whistleblower’s mother

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"Suchir was a valued member of our team and we are still heartbroken by his passing. We continue to feel his loss deeply.  We have reached out to the San Francisco Police Department and have offered our assistance if it's needed. Law enforcement are the right authorities in this situation, and we trust them to continue sharing updates as needed," OpenAI said in a statement.

The statement added the company won’t comment on the issue further "out of respect".

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Suchir Balaji’s relationship with OpenAI

While in college, Balaji is understood to have interned at OpenAI and Scale AI. Notably, Balaji left OpenAI in August last year, ending his four-year stint at the AI giant.

Also read: OpenAI whistleblower death: Indian-origin victim's mother alleges foul play over 'blood'

In October, he said in an interview that he won’t work for technologies that bring more harm than benefit to society. “I no longer wanted to contribute to technologies that I believe would bring society more harm than benefit,” Balaji told the New York Times. “If you believe what I believe, you have to just leave the company,” Balaji added.

Balaji was also reportedly named in a court filing submitted against OpenAI over alleged copyright violation. Several firms, including Microsoft, its biggest investor, and newspapers have sued OpenAI over breaking copyright laws.

Mother Poornima Rao's claims

While talking to Tucker Carlson, Suchir's mother Poornima accused OpenAI of killing her son. 

"Everybody is suppressed, nobody is ready to come up and tell the truth. Even the attorneys have been made to say that it is a suicide," she said.

Billionaire Elon Musk also reacted to Balaji's mother's interview, calling the allegations "extremely concerning".