After a week of chaos and changes that sent shockwaves through the tech industry, Sam Altman has agreed to return as the CEO of OpenAI.
OpenAI co-founder Sam Altman was recently ousted as chief executive by the OpenAI board. The decision sparked an employee revolt that threatened to undermine the reputation of the world’s leading artificial intelligence (AI) company.
The OpenAI board’s abrupt decision to remove Altman triggered significant backlash from both company employees and investors. Subsequently, the board acknowledged that terminating Altman may not have been the most prudent course of action. In response to considerable pressure from staff, venture capitalists (VCs), and Microsoft, a key partner and OpenAI’s largest stakeholder with a $13 billion investment, the board reinstated Altman as the CEO.
In a November 22 statement posted to X late Tuesday, OpenAI said it had reached an agreement “in principle” for Altman to return to OpenAI as CEO with a new initial board. The company said that the board will be chaired by Bret Taylor, a former co-CEO of Salesforce. Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers will also join the board, alongside existing director, Quora CEO Adam D’Angelo.
OpenAI’s previous board, which included its chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, independent directors D’Angelo, technology entrepreneur Tasha McCauley, and Georgetown Center for Security and Emerging Technology’s Helen Toner, faced intense public scrutiny for their abrupt decision. Several OpenAI investors even began exploring options to sue the board members, Reuters reported.
Altman is back at OpenAI
Altman confirmed the news on X. “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,” he wrote.
Greg Brockman, an OpenAI cofounder who was removed from his role as chair of the board when Altman was fired and later quit in protest, is also returning. “Returning to OpenAI & getting back to coding tonight,” he wrote on X.
After more than 95% of the company’s employees threatened to quit if the board of directors that had just fired Altman did not reinstate him, the company reconsidered its decision to terminate Altman. The board of directors, who had just ousted him, opted to reverse their decision in a bid to salvage the company’s reputation and restore investor confidence.
“OpenAI is nothing without its people,” the company proclaimed on social media after rehiring Sam Altman.
