Why OpenAI fired CEO Sam Altman: What we know
What's the story
In an extremely sudden turn of events, OpenAI has announced the termination of CEO Sam Altman after a board review determined his lack of consistent honesty in communications.
The company revealed the board has lost faith in Altman's capacity to lead OpenAI.
Mira Murati, the chief technology officer, will take over as interim CEO immediately while the search for a permanent replacement is underway.
OpenAI's communications team has chosen not to comment beyond a blog post announcement, per The Verge.
Details
Altman was raising VC fund
According to Semafor, Altman was working on raising a venture capital fund centered on "hard tech" when he stepped down. Although it is uncertain if this is connected to his exit.
Moreover, Altman expressed gratitude for his time at OpenAI in an X post, saying, "It was transformative for me personally, and hopefully the world a little bit. Most of all, I loved working with such talented people."
He mentioned that he would reveal more about his future endeavors later.
Twitter Post
Altman's reaction and future plans shared on X
i loved my time at openai. it was transformative for me personally, and hopefully the world a little bit. most of all i loved working with such talented people.
— Sam Altman (@sama) November 17, 2023
will have more to say about what’s next later.
🫡
Facts
OpenAI's developments under Altman's leadership
Altman co-founded OpenAI in 2015 and initially served as a co-chair alongside Elon Musk, who departed in 2018.
He emerged as a prominent figure, leading the charge in OpenAI's ongoing AI competition sparked by the widely embraced ChatGPT release last year.
Just last week, Altman headlined the company's inaugural DevDay conference, revealing significant updates to rival giants like Microsoft and Google.
Altman also presented at Thursday's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference. His departure signifies a notable change in OpenAI's leadership structure.
More
Greg Brockman steps down as board chairman
Besides Altman's exit, OpenAI announced that co-founder and President Greg Brockman will resign as board chairman but continue with the company. Later, Brockman shared on X he had resigned "based on today's news."
In contrast to typical private company boards, OpenAI's board is predominantly composed of external members.
The remaining board members are Chief Scientist Ilya Sutskever, Quora CEO Adam D'Angelo, former GeoSim Systems CEO Tasha McCauley, and Georgetown's Center for Security and Emerging Technology Director of Strategy Helen Toner.
Twitter Post
Brockman says 'I quit' on X
After learning today’s news, this is the message I sent to the OpenAI team: https://t.co/NMnG16yFmm pic.twitter.com/8x39P0ejOM
— Greg Brockman (@gdb) November 18, 2023
Insights
Microsoft to maintain partnership with OpenAI
Despite the abrupt leadership changes, Microsoft, which invested billions in OpenAI, has affirmed its ongoing partnership with the organization.
Microsoft spokesperson Frank Shaw told The Verge, "We have a long-term partnership with OpenAI and Microsoft remains committed to Mira and their team as we bring this next era of AI to our customers."
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella also supported this view in an X post.
Twitter Post
Take a look at Nadella's post
As you saw at Microsoft Ignite this week, we're continuing to rapidly innovate for this era of AI, with over 100 announcements across the full tech stack – from AI systems, models, and tools in Azure, to Copilot. Most importantly, we're committed to delivering all of this to our…
— Satya Nadella (@satyanadella) November 17, 2023