OpenAI Jolts with Firing and Likely Return of CEO Sam Altman

Negotiations on whether Sam Altman will return as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of OpenAI are set to end on Monday, 8:00 PM EST.

OpenAI’s board surprised investors on Friday when they fired Altman without prior notice to stakeholders. In their official public announcement, the board cited Altman’s consistent communication lapse as the reason for his ousting.

The note also included the resignation of President Greg Brockman, who insisted he was removed alongside Altman. Insiders claimed that the company’s Chief Scientist, Ilya Sutskever, was the primary instigator of the firings.

OpenAI has six board members in its unique leadership structure, with three executives and three people from the outside. Altman, Brockman, and Sutskever represent half of the board of executives.

Sutskever was reportedly unsatisfied with his diminished role in administrating the artificial intelligence (AI) research and deployment organization. Thus, Sutskever rallied the three outsiders to kick out Altman and Brockman with a four-of-six majority vote.

Investors immediately caused an uproar after the announcement, with many warning to withdraw their investments if Altman does not return. As a result, OpenAI Interim CEO Mira Murati reached out to Altman, asking him to return.

Altman has set the ousting of the four remaining board members as the condition for his return. The board members agreed but claimed that they were having trouble finding replacements.

The two parties are scheduled to meet on Monday to settle matters.

Sam Altman and OpenAI’s Origin and Evolution

Sam Altman and Tesla CEO Elon Musk were the only founding board members when OpenAI was formed as a nonprofit organization in 2015.

Aiming to develop AI for the benefit of humanity, the project was designed to counterbalance profit-driven AI labs like Google.

In 2018, Musk attempted to take control of the board, and disagreements led to him stepping down. A year later, OpenAI created a for-profit subsidiary to attract funding for its ambitious AI development plans.

Contrasting its original vision, OpenAI accepted a $1.00 billion investment from Microsoft in 2019 and another $2.00 billion in 2021. In January 2023, Microsoft invested $10.00 billion more, acquiring a 75% stake in OpenAI’s profits.

Musk, expressing his disapproval of OpenAI’s pursuit of profits, launched the Grok AI in November.