After nearly a week of dispute and drama, ousted OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is back at his old position in the AI frontier.
Altman and former chairman Greg Brockman announced their return to the company on X (formerly Twitter), this Wednesday.
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. when i decided to join msft on sun evening, it was clear that was the best path for me and the team. with the new board and w satya’s support, i’m…
— Sam Altman (@sama) November 22, 2023
The decision to reinstate the two came amidst intense pressure from both investors and employees, threatening the board of a mass exodus if Altman was not invited back.
Microsoft, OpenAI's top investor, applauded the board's actions.
Satya Nadella, Microsoft's CEO, affirmed Altman's reinstatement as the "first essential step on a path to more stable, well-informed, and effective governance."
Microsoft previously invited Altman and Brockman to work under the tech giant's new division dedicated to AI chips.
Leadership Changes in OpenAI
The return of Altman to his old position also marked several changes in the AI firm's executive board.
Former Salesforce co-CEO Bret Taylor and former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers will join OpenAI's board members lineup. Taylor will serve as the chairperson.
Adam D'Angelo, co-founder and CEO of question-and-answer startup Quora, will retain his seat in the board.
OpenAI is currently "collaborating to figure out the details" before releasing the new initial board.
Not included in the current list was co-founder Ilya Sutskever, one of the previous that voted to remove Altman.
It is noted that Sutskever and former interim CEO Mira Murati joined the resignation petition of the remaining board members, days after Altman was fired.
Emmett Shear, former CEO of Twitch, served as the interim CEO as a replacement for Murati and Altman.
Altman's Ousting and the OpenAI Drama
The 38-year-old tech entrepreneur was removed from office last Nov. 18, Saturday, that shook the whole AI industry.
The board's reason for the ousting was that the CEO was "not consistently candid in his communications."
Brockman later followed Altman after being demoted.
Several negotiations were started over the past few days as employees and investors pushed for the reinstatement.
The AI giant currently leads the forefront of AI innovations, developing well-known generative tools such as ChatGPT and DALL-E. OpenAI is valued to be at least $80 billion.
