Michelle ThompsonAfter a push by employees and investors, the new board announces a “agreement in principle” for the old CEO to return.
OpenAI has announced that Sam Altman, the developer of ChatGPT, will take back his position as CEO, stating that they have “reached an agreement in principle” for his restoration.
Following Altman’s abrupt termination on Friday, the San Francisco-based company announced the move following many days of internal strife. Almost all 750 employees of OpenAI had vowed to quit if the board in charge of the company didn’t bring him back, and they quit right away.
The agreement, which was agreed over night, calls for the creation of a new board with Bret Taylor, the former co-chief executive of Salesforce, as its head. Larry Summers, the former US Treasury Secretary, and Adam D’Angelo, the software entrepreneur and current board member who was involved in Altman’s termination, will be present.
“We have reached an agreement in principle for Sam Altman to return to OpenAI as CEO with a new initial board of Bret Taylor (chair), Larry Summers, and Adam D’Angelo,” OpenAI stated on the X platform, formerly Twitter. We are working together to resolve the specifics. I sincerely appreciate your patience during this.
Shortly after, Altman wrote on X, stating, “I love OpenAI, and everything I’ve done over the past few days has been in service of keeping this team and its mission together.” Altman has not been reappointed to the board. “I’m looking forward to returning to OpenAI,” he continued.
The board of the non-profit parent of OpenAI, which is in charge of his commercial business, dismissed the 38-year-old on Friday. Reportedly, he had demanded that the board be fired and that OpenAI’s governance be changed before he would return. As per the deal, D’Angelo will stay on the board, but the other three members will be removed.
The largest investor in OpenAI, Microsoft, had been advocating for Altman’s return. Analysts view this as giving the ex-CEO a de facto leadership position over his former firm. On Monday, it hired Altman and Greg Brockman, who resigned as OpenAI’s president on Friday following the dismissal of his colleague. Additionally, Brockman posted a selfie with coworkers on X, saying, “We are so back,” confirming his return to OpenAI.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella wrote on X early on Wednesday, saying, “We are encouraged by the changes to the OpenAI board.” This, in our opinion, is a crucial first step toward better informed, stable, and efficient governance.
After our conversation, Sam, Greg, and I decided that they, together with the OAI [OpenAI] leadership team, have a crucial role to play in making sure OAI grows and fulfills its objective. We are eager to strengthen our close collaboration and provide our clients and partners with the benefits of this upcoming AI generation.
On Monday, OpenAI informed employees that it was having “intense discussions” about bringing Altman back. As to a memo obtained by Bloomberg News, vice-president of global affairs Anna Makanju stated, “We are scheduled to speak again tomorrow morning when everyone has had a little more sleep. We are continuing to go over mutually acceptable options.”
Altman will become the fourth CEO of OpenAI in as many days upon his return. Before the board appointed Emmett Shear, the co-founder of the video game streaming service Twitch, as a temporary replacement, he was first succeeded as interim CEO by Mira Murati, the company’s chief technical officer. According to reports, OpenAI will carry out a separate investigation of Altman’s termination and its consequences.
The board announced last week that Altman had been fired for not being “candid in his communications,” although it would not specify which communications the board was alluding to. Although there were broader worries expressed by experts that AI development was moving too quickly, Shear refuted the idea that Altman’s dismissal was related to safety issues.
Following the announcement of Altman’s return, Shear expressed his satisfaction on X on Wednesday, writing, “This was the pathway that maximized safety alongside doing right by all stakeholders involved.” I’m happy to have contributed to the resolution.
Ilya Sutskever, the principal scientist at OpenAI and signatory to the staff letter urging Altman’s return, Tasha McCauley, a software entrepreneur, and Helen Toner, a director at Georgetown University’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology, are the three individuals quitting the board.
Toner added, “And now, we all get some sleep,” to OpenAI’s announcement about Altman’s rehire on Wednesday.
