Sam Altman Will Not Return as OpenAI CEO, Twitch Co-founder Becomes Successor

In a shocking twist of events, ousted OpenAI CEO Sam Altman will not return to his former position in the AI company. At least for now.

Sam Altman Will Not Return as OpenAI CEO, Twitch Co-founder Becomes Successor
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In an internal memo provided by one of OpenAI's board directors, Ilya Sutskever, Altman has decided to walk away after 48 hours of reinstatement talks.

Altman was previously reported to return at the company's San Francisco-headquarters for possible return earlier this Sunday.

He was with OpenAI's former chairman Greg Brockman who resigned in solidarity to Altman's firing.

Interim CEO Mira Murati, who replaced Altman for two days, pushed the discussions between the two sides amidst threats from other employees leaving if no resolution come to pass.

OpenAI's board of directors appointed Emmett Shear, co-founder of video streaming site Twitch, to become the interim CEO of the company.

Who is Emmett Shear?

Shear is the co-founder and former CEO of Twitch, holding the position until stepping down March this year.

Shear's appointment was decided by the board of directors, stating that the former Twitch CEO has a "unique mix of skills, expertise and relationships that will drive OpenAI forward."

Prior to his career as chief executive of Twitch, the 40-year-old entrepreneur served as a part-time partner at Y Combinator in 2011.

This was the same year Altman served as the president of the company before starting OpenAI in 2015.

Shear was Yale graduate of the class of 2005 under Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science.

He co-founded Twitch, formerly Justin.tv, with leading tech starters like Justin Kan, Michael Seibel, and Kyle Vogt.

Pressure on the OpenAI Execs

Since Altman was ousted as CEO three days ago, board members at OpenAI have been under pressure from the public, its top investors, and from the inside.

Several shareholders of the company had recruited Microsoft's aid to press the board to reinstate Altman and Brockman to their former positions.

Microsoft is one of OpenAI's major backer and partner, investing $13 billion for a multi-year deal on the company.

Other top-brass members of OpenAI have filed for their resignations as well after the board failed to deliver its promises.

OpenAI has yet to officially announce its plans for the future without Altman.

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