After a rollercoaster few days, Sam Altman is set to return as CEO of OpenAI as the startup succumbed to mounting pressure from employees and investors.
OpenAI said that both parties have agreed in principle for Altman to rejoin the startup under a new board. Former Salesforce CEO Bret Taylor will become the new chair of the board which will also include former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers and current board member Adam D'Angelo.
In a post on X, Altman said: "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."
The OpenAI board members who made the decision to fire Altman—Tasha McCauley, Helen Toner and the startup’s chief scientist Ilya Sutskever—will not return. On Nov. 20, Sutskever said in a post on X that he regretted his participation in the move and pushed for Altman’s reinstatement. Reasons for Atman's firing are still unclear.
Greg Brockman, the former president who quit upon Altman’s dismissal, has also agreed to return to OpenAI but it is unclear in what capacity. It is also unknown as to the future of interim CEO Emmett Shear who was appointed on Nov. 20.
Altman's reinstatement appears to offer a resolution to what has been a challenging week for OpenAI that put employees and investors in direct opposition with the board. Over 700 staff members signed a letter threatening to leave the company if the four-person board did not resign after reinstating Altman and Brockman.
Fears mounted that hundreds of employees could jump ship to Microsoft where Altman and Brockman were set to lead the group’s new advanced AI research team. Earlier this week, Microsoft’s CTO Kevin Scott offered to match compensation for OpenAI employees who made the move.
The decision to reverse course will also breathe new life into the company’s planned secondary share sale which came to a standstill as prospective buyers took a wait-and-see approach. Josh Kushner, founder of Thrive Capital which is leading the sale, said in an X post: “We believe this is the best outcome for the company, its employees, those who build on their technologies, and the world at large.”
The chaos that ensued from Altman’s dismissal is likely to raise more questions around OpenAI’s unusual structure. Unlike most startups, OpenAI sits as part of a nonprofit with the board acting as the overall governing body for all activities. The company is reportedly planning an investigation into Altman’s firing, which is expected to scrutinize this structure.
Featured image of Sam Altman by Patrick T. Fallon/Getty Images
This article originally appeared on PitchBook News
OpenAI's Altman reinstated as CEO
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