Parents of OpenAI whistleblower want outside investigation of their son's death

SAN FRANCISCO - The parents of a young man involved in a case against OpenAI, are calling for further investigation into the death of their son. The San Francisco County coroner ruled his death a suicide back in November. Now they also have the support of a Silicon Valley Congressman.

The parents of Suchir Balaji say they don’t believe their son died by suicide, and they want an outside agency to investigate their son’s death. 

"You can see how happy he is. We want the world to see his happy mood just before his death," said Poornima Ramarao, Balaji's mother. 

The parents of 26-year-old Suchir Balaji say they continue to have questions about the death of their son. They say on November 26th, Balaji was discovered in his San Francisco apartment with an apparent gunshot wound. San Francisco Police say it appeared to be a suicide and there was no evidence of foul play in its initial investigation. Still, his mother says there were things out of place in his apartment.

"The pin drive is missing. His computer was messed up. His desktop was left on for three days. It’s messed up," said Ramarao. 

Balaji started working as a researcher for OpenAI in 2020 and, after resigning, he publicly claimed the company violated copyright laws while developing ChatGPT. His parents say he was called to be a witness for a case against OpenAI four days before his death. Ahmed Banafa is an engineering professor and tech expert at San Jose State University.

"They basically said that’s not true. They’re going through the case and trying to prove that this is public-value information. Another avenue they took, they started striking agreements with certain news agencies," said  Banafa. 

Ramarao says they’re conducting an independent autopsy and have received support from Congressman Ro Khanna, who released this statement, saying:

"My heart breaks for Suchir Balaji’s family and his mother, Poornima Ramarao, who I spoke to yesterday. It is a tragic loss. I trust that the appropriate federal law enforcement agencies will conduct an investigation," - Rep. Ro Khanna.

"Let them investigate and bring it out, rather than speculating about something. We want the truth to come out and a report from the authorities as to what could be the reason for his death," said Ramarao.

About a month after Balaji’s death, OpenAI released a statement on X, saying in part:

"We were devastated to learn of this tragic news and have been in touch with Suchir’s family to offer our full support during this difficult time. Our priority is to continue to do everything we can to assist them.

We first became aware of his concerns when the New York Times published his comments, and we have no record of further interaction with him. We respect his and others’ right to share views freely." - OpenAI

Balaji’s mother says she plans to meet with San Francisco’s D.A. and the appropriate agency with Representative Khanna’s help.