OpenAI CEO Sam Altman who was fired by the board last week has reportedly returned as the CEO of the AI giant. Altman’s dismissal from his position as the CEO shocked the entire Artificial Intelligence fraternity across the globe.
On Wednesday, OpenAI announced that Sam Altman will return to the company as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) with new board members. These members will include Bret Taylor (Chair), Larry Summers, and Adam D’Angelo. OpenAI made the announcement on X (formerly Twitter).
“We have reached an agreement in principle for Sam Altman to return to OpenAI as CEO with a new initial board of Bret Taylor (Chair), Larry Summers, and Adam D’Angelo,” Said OpenAI via X
“We are collaborating to figure out the details. Thank you so much for your patience through this.” The company added
We have reached an agreement in principle for Sam Altman to return to OpenAI as CEO with a new initial board of Bret Taylor (Chair), Larry Summers, and Adam D'Angelo.
— OpenAI (@OpenAI) November 22, 2023
We are collaborating to figure out the details. Thank you so much for your patience through this.
Elon Musk, the billionaire businessman in reply to the announcement said, “You guys literally did all this for nothing. Nice marketing stunt”
You guys literally did all this for nothing.
— Elon Musk (Parody) (@ElonMuskAOC) November 22, 2023
Nice marketing stunt
On Monday, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella on X announced that the company has hired Altman to lead a “new advanced AI research team” along with Greg Brockman and colleagues.
We remain committed to our partnership with OpenAI and have confidence in our product roadmap, our ability to continue to innovate with everything we announced at Microsoft Ignite, and in continuing to support our customers and partners. We look forward to getting to know Emmett…
— Satya Nadella (@satyanadella) November 20, 2023
Adding to the development, on Wednesday, Sam Altman, the returning CEO of OpenAI shared that he joined Microsoft on Sunday evening, and with the new board and Nadella’s support he is keen to return to OpenAI and build a strong partnership between OpenAI and Microsoft.
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
Besides Altman, Greg Brockman who resigned from OpenAI following Altman’s transition, later announced on X that he’ll be returning to OpenAI,
Returning to OpenAI & getting back to coding tonight.
— Greg Brockman (@gdb) November 22, 2023
As per various media reports, Mira Murati, former CTO of OpenAI who was named as the ‘interim CEO’ of the company too lost her title and replaced by Emmett Shear, the former Twitch CEO.
On Monday, Murati in a post on X said “OpenAI is nothing without its people”.
OpenAI is nothing without its people
— Mira Murati (@miramurati) November 20, 2023
And the claim came out to be true as following the wildcard return announcement of Altman, Shear made a statement on X on Wednesday,
“I am deeply pleased by this result, after ~72 very intense hours of work. Coming into OpenAI, I wasn’t sure what the right path would be. This was the pathway that maximized safety alongside doing right by all stakeholders involved. I’m glad to have been a part of the solution.” said Emmett Shear on X
I am deeply pleased by this result, after ~72 very intense hours of work. Coming into OpenAI, I wasn’t sure what the right path would be. This was the pathway that maximized safety alongside doing right by all stakeholders involved. I’m glad to have been a part of the solution. https://t.co/AGoDBbwhkq
— Emmett Shear (@eshear) November 22, 2023
The dismissal of Altman from OpenAI resulted in a wave of staff resignations. The question remains, has Mira Murati too returned to OpenAI, if not, will she return?
