Sam Altman Fired as CEO of OpenAI and Hired by Microsoft

OpenAI, the company that created ChatGPT, has unveiled a pivotal shift in its organization’s leadership. On Friday, the board of directors fired long-time CEO Sam Altman. OpenAI’s chief technology officer, Mira Murati, originally stepped in as interim CEO, but after a weekend of speculation and rumors, the former co-founder and CEO of Twitch, Emmett Shear, has taken over as interim CEO.

The decision to remove Altman came on the heels of an in-depth review by the board about his communication patterns. The board concluded that Altman’s approach lacked consistent transparency, consequently impacting its ability to fulfill its responsibilities effectively. The announcement stated, “The board no longer has confidence in his ability to continue leading OpenAI.”

In response, Altman released a post on X that said he loved his 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,” he stated.

Despite these changes, the board reaffirms its unwavering dedication to OpenAI’s foundational mission: making sure the benefits of artificial general intelligence are accessible to everyone. While expressing gratitude to Altman for his significant contributions to the establishment and growth of OpenAI, the board also acknowledged the need for a fresh leadership approach to navigate into the future.

The board of OpenAI comprises a diverse array of professionals, including Chief Scientist Ilya Sutskever, Quora CEO Adam D’Angelo, technology entrepreneur Tasha McCauley, and Helen Toner from the Georgetown Center for Security and Emerging Technology, all as independent directors. As the organization enters this new phase, Greg Brockman, the chairman of the board, has also stepped down from his role.

After the news about Altman started spreading on Friday, Microsoft’s CEO Satya Nadella announced that their relationship with OpenAI is not changing.

Additionally, Microsoft announced Monday morning that it hired Altman to “lead a new advanced AI research team,” Nadella said in a post on X. Greg Brockman will also be joining Microsoft to work with Altman.

This news comes after rumors circulated over the weekend about OpenAI’s board of directors having “second thoughts” about firing Altman, according to CNN, though now that OpenAI has brought in Shear as interim CEO and Microsoft has hired Altman, it seems unlikely that the original decision will change.