Oliver Mulherin
Australian software engineer who has worked at the IOTA Foundation, Broadwing, SPARK Neuro, and Meta, and who married OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman in January 2024.
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- Location
- San Francisco, California, United States (current residence)
- Country
- Australia
- Nationality
- Australian
- Education
- University of Melbourne, computer science degree, 2016
- Known for
- Software engineer; husband of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman
- Spouse
- Sam Altman, married January 11, 2024
- Children
- One son, born via surrogacy, announced February 22, 2025
Overview
Oliver Mulherin is an Australian software engineer who has worked at the IOTA Foundation, Broadwing, SPARK Neuro, and Meta, and who is married to OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman (Newsweek; NBC News).
Education and early career
Mulherin studied computer science at the University of Melbourne, graduating in 2016, and worked on AI projects — including with the IOTA Foundation — while still a student (Newsweek; SheThePeople). After graduating, he worked as a software engineer at Broadwing and then at SPARK Neuro, a startup focused on dementia detection, before relocating from Sydney to San Francisco. He subsequently worked at Meta, reportedly from around 2020 to 2022 (SheThePeople).
Relationship and family
Mulherin and Sam Altman were first seen publicly together at a White House state dinner hosted by President Joe Biden for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (NBC News). The couple married in a private beach ceremony in Hawaii on January 11, 2024 (NBC News; SheThePeople). On February 22, 2025, Altman announced on social media that he and Mulherin had had their first child, a son born via surrogacy who arrived early and spent time in the neonatal intensive care unit (VnExpress International).
What this profile does not claim
This profile does not attempt to document Mulherin’s professional life to the depth typically available for a named company executive — one source used here describes him as someone who “rarely makes public appearances or engages on social media,” and no independent, on-the-record interview with him was located. Employment dates for his roles at Broadwing and SPARK Neuro are not independently confirmed beyond the general sequence reported. It does not restate a claim, found in only one lower-tier source, that Altman confirmed the relationship in a specific September 2023 magazine interview, since that detail was not corroborated elsewhere.
Timeline
- 2016
- Graduates from the University of Melbourne with a computer science degree, having worked on AI projects, including with the IOTA Foundation, while still a student.
- 2016-2020
- Works as a software engineer at Broadwing and at SPARK Neuro, a dementia-detection startup, before relocating from Sydney to San Francisco.
- 2020
- Joins Meta (formerly Facebook) as a software engineer.
- 2022
- Leaves Meta, according to the same account of his employment history.
- 2023-06
- He and Sam Altman are first seen publicly together at a White House state dinner hosted by President Joe Biden for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
- 2024-01-11
- Marries Sam Altman in a private beach ceremony in Hawaii.
- 2025-02-22
- Altman announces on X that he and Mulherin have had their first child, a son born via surrogacy who arrived early and required a NICU stay.
What we could not verify
These claims came up in research and could not be confirmed. They are recorded here rather than published as fact or quietly dropped. If you hold a source that settles one, please tell us.
- No source read for this profile independently confirms Mulherin's exact dates of employment at Broadwing, SPARK Neuro, or Meta beyond the approximate "2020 to 2022" range given for Meta by one outlet (SheThePeople); Newsweek's account lists the same employers without dates. This profile does not assert precise start or end dates for any of these roles.
- The claim that Altman publicly confirmed the relationship in a September 2023 New York Magazine interview appears in only one of the sources used here (SheThePeople, graded tier3) and was not independently corroborated by a tier1 or tier2 source; it is not stated as established fact in this profile's body text.
- No independent, on-the-record interview with Mulherin himself was located; all biographical detail here comes from third-party reporting about him, not from his own statements.
Sources
4 sources (2 tier 1, 1 tier 2, 1 tier 3), each opened and read against the claim it supports. Every source is independent of the subject; no first-party material is cited. See the source policy.
Mulherin is a private individual who, per one of the sources used here, "rarely makes public appearances or engages on social media." Almost everything independently reported about him is tied to his marriage to a prominent public figure; this profile reflects that limited public record rather than treating him as independently as notable as his husband.
- Who is Sam Altman's Partner? Everything to Know About Oliver Mulherin Supports: That Mulherin worked on AI projects while still at university, including with the IOTA Foundation, and subsequently worked at Broadwing, SPARK Neuro, and Meta.
- OpenAI CEO Sam Altman marries partner in seaside ceremony Supports: Confirming Mulherin's occupation as an Australian software engineer, the couple's marriage, and their attendance at a White House state dinner for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
- OpenAI CEO Sam Altman reveals birth of his first child via surrogacy Supports: The February 22, 2025 announcement of the couple's son, born via surrogacy.
- Who Is Oliver Mulherin? OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's Partner Supports: The University of Melbourne graduation year (2016), the Broadwing, SPARK Neuro, and Meta (2020-2022) employment sequence, the relocation from Sydney to San Francisco, the June 2023 White House dinner as the couple's first public appearance, and the January 11, 2024 wedding date and location.
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