His Friday (17) dismissal came as a significant surprise in the market, prompting a collective threat of employee departures from the company.
Following an agreement with OpenAI, Sam Altman is set to resume his role as the CEO of the company, the creator of ChatGPT. The information was disclosed during the early hours of this Wednesday (22). Altman had been dismissed from OpenAI on Friday (17). He is one of the company’s founders.
“We have reached a preliminary agreement for Sam to return to OpenAI as CEO with a new board, composed of Bret Taylor (Chairman), Larry Summers, and Adam D’Angelo,” the company announced on the X social network, formerly known as Twitter.
Altman also expressed his thoughts on social media, stating that he “loves OpenAI” and that everything he did in the past few days was to keep his team united.
“I am looking forward to returning to OpenAI,” he declared. Greg Brockman, who had resigned from the board presidency in solidarity with Altman, was also rehired by OpenAI.
Altman mentioned that upon his return, he aims to further develop OpenAI’s strong partnership with Microsoft, which had even hired him on Sunday (19) to lead an Artificial Intelligence team. Microsoft is one of the main investors in OpenAI.
In a social media post, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said he is “encouraged” by the new turn of events. “Sam, Greg, and I have talked and agreed that they have a pivotal role to play within the OpenAI leadership team,” he stated.
Understanding the ‘drama’ Here are the key points of the drama involving OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, Sam Altman, and Microsoft.
❌ On Friday afternoon, Sam Altman is informed of his dismissal in a video call with Ilya Sutskever, advisor and co-founder of OpenAI, and other board members, according to Greg Brockman, board chairman and also a company co-founder, who claimed not to have participated in the conversation; ❌ Minutes later, Brockman is invited to another call where he is informed of his departure from the board and Altman’s dismissal. According to Brockman, the board mentioned that his executive role would be retained as it was a “vital function for the company”; 📰 At this point, OpenAI publicly announces Altman’s dismissal. The statement mentions that the board lacked confidence in the executive’s ability to lead the company and that he was “inconsistently truthful in his communications,” without citing specific examples of such behavior; ↪️ The company announces its Chief Technology Officer, Mira Murati, as the interim CEO; 👋 In solidarity with Altman’s departure, Greg Brockman resigns from the position he still held;
💙 “OpenAI is nothing without its people”: company executives, including Murati, post this message in support of Altman, who had posted the phrase on Sunday (19);
🤝 On Monday (20), Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announces that the company has hired Sam Altman and Greg Brockman to lead a new artificial intelligence research team, but he states that the partnership with OpenAI will continue; ↪️ Emmett Shear, co-founder of the Twitch streaming platform, is announced as the new interim CEO of OpenAI, taking the position that Murati held for less than three days;
😡 In a letter, OpenAI employees allege “bad faith” on the part of the OpenAI board in Altman’s dismissal and threaten a collective departure if Altman and Brockman do not return to the board and the other board members do not resign – one of the signatories is Ilya Sutskever, who had informed Altman of his CEO dismissal;
😞 Ilya Sutskever expresses regret for his involvement in the board’s actions: “I never intended to harm OpenAI. I love everything we’ve built together, and I will do my best to reunify the company.”
↪️ On Wednesday (22), after negotiations, OpenAI announces the rehiring of Sam Altman with a new board consisting of Bret Taylor (Chairman), Larry Summers, and Adam D’Angelo.
