Michelle ThompsonSam Altman, the former CEO of OpenAI, will head Microsoft’s new AI research group.
OpenAI, a US-based artificial intelligence (AI) research business, selected a new temporary CEO on Monday following the dismissal of Sam Altman from his position last week.
Former co-founder and CEO of Twitch, a live video streaming company, Emmett Shear, has announced that he will be joining OpenAI as CEO.
“I received a call today asking me to think about a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take on the role of interim CEO of @OpenAI. I agreed after talking to my family and giving it some thought for a few hours,” he wrote on X.
Shear, 40, stated that he intends to restructure the management and leadership team and meet with as many OpenAI staff members, partners, investors, and customers as he can in the upcoming 30 days.
“Depending on the results everything we learn from these, I will drive changes in the organization — up to and including pushing strongly for significant governance changes if necessary,” he stated.
Even though Twitch was purchased by Amazon in 2014 for $1 billion, Shear resigned as CEO of the business the previous year.
The action was taken in response to CEO Altman’s dismissal from OpenAI, the company that created ChatGPT, on Friday. According to the company, Altman “was not consistently candid in his communications with the board, hindering its ability to exercise its responsibilities.”
The 38-year-old Altman, who led the company’s AI research team since 2020, has already secured a new position at Microsoft.
Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella wrote on X, “We’re extremely excited to share the news that Sam Altman and Greg Brockman, along with colleagues, will be joining Microsoft to lead a new advanced AI research team.”
“We remain committed to our partnership with OpenAI and have confidence in our product roadmap, our ability to continue to innovate with everything we announced at Microsoft Ignite, and in continuing to support our customers and partners,” he stated.
Microsoft started investing $1 billion in OpenAI in 2019, but as of right now, the total is anticipated to reach $13 billion.
