STORY: OpenAI is headed for a big shakeup, including an end to its non-profit status.

Three top technical leaders at the ChatGPT maker quit Wednesday.

Chief Technology Officer Mira Murati was among them.

She was often the public face of the startup, alongside Chief Executive Sam Altman.

It's just the latest in a string of departures during a tumultuous year.

Earlier Wednesday, Reuters reported that the AI company planned to drop its non-profit status.

Instead, it will restructure as a for-profit benefit corporation.

And that move will see Altman get a big equity stake.

Right now, OpenAI does have a for-profit wing, but it's controlled by the non-profit board - an unusual setup that has led to turbulence.

In November last year Altman was ousted by the board over a loss of trust - only to be reinstated five days later.

OpenAI is also now in the middle of a big new fundraising round.

It aims to secure $6.5 billion in new investment, and will see the company valued at around $150 billion.

But the round is contingent on the restructuring going through, and it's not clear if the executive departures could have a bearing on the outcome.

Earlier this year, chief scientist and cofounder Ilya Sutskever was among those to leave OpenAI, going on to launch his own startup.

Fellow cofounder John Schulman then left to join rival AI outfit Anthropic.