In the early hours of 22nd November (Wednesday), OpenAI, the startup firm that runs ChatGPT announced that its Former CEO Sam Altman who was sacked from his role earlier this week, will return for the job.
Taking to X, OpenAI informed the public that they had reached an in-principle agreement with Altman. As per the initial details shared by the AI giant, a newly formed three-member board will assist him. Bret Taylor will chair the new board while Larry Summers and Adam D’Angelo will be the other members of the board. The fine details of the agreement are yet to be finalised, OpenAI noted.
The post read, “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. We are collaborating to figure out the details. Thank you so much for your patience through this.”
In an affirmative response to the announcement, Sam Altman confirmed that he is returning to OpenAI along with building a strong partnership with Microsoft. Notably, he had joined the Software behemoth in the midst of his ouster row with OpenAI.
Sam Altman tweeted, “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 (Microsoft) 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 looking forward to returning to openai, and building on our strong partnership with msft.”
Following the development, the co-founder of OpenAI, Greg Brockman also confirmed that he too will return to OpenAI. Strikingly, in protest of Altman’s sacking, he resigned from his post of President and jumped ship to Microsoft alongside his close ally Altman.
Greg Brockman announced, “Returning to OpenAI & getting back to coding tonight.”
Reacting to the fast-paced development, the recently appointed Interim CEO of OpenAI, Emmett Shear, expressed that he was pleased with Altman’s return. Shear, who is currently the Interim CEO, would seemingly make way for Altman for the CEO role, as per the agreement.
Shear reacted, “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.”
It is important to note that on Friday in a shocking development, the OpenAI board expressed no-confidence in the leadership of Sam Altman and sacked him. Subsequently, the AI startup firm faced a slew of desertion and upheaval as the then President and co-founder Greg Brockman also resigned in protest.
While Altman received widespread support and in the meantime joined Microsoft along with a host of other OpenAI staff, the board that sacked Altman faced massive backlash. Now, as per the new agreement, it seems that the chaotic development has ended with the dissolution of the earlier board and Sam Altman returning as the CEO, as was reported in the media considering investors’ row.