Sam has agreed to return to OpenAI
OpenAI ‘Now, we all get some sleep’: Revisiting Altman’s resignation after he walked out of the boardroom
Altman’s return is even more shocking than his sudden exit on Friday. The board of OpenAI decided to remove him, so they replaced the CEOs in three days to make sure they didn’t return him. Meanwhile, the employees of OpenAI revolted, threatening to defect to Microsoft with Altman and co-founder Greg Brockman if the board didn’t resign.
During the whole saga, the board members who opposed Altman withheld an actual explanation for why they fired him, even under the threat of lawsuits from investors. On Sunday, a member of the board, called Sutskever, changed his mind and now is in Altman’s camp.
Helen Toner, who was reportedly the key board member in the move to oust Altman, tweeted “and now, we all get some sleep,” which will be very funny at a later time, we’re sure.
Kelly Sims, a partner of Thrive, said that OpenAI has the potential to be one of the most consequential companies in the history of computing. Sam and Greg are both exceptional leaders, who have a profound commitment to the company’s integrity and an unparalleled ability to inspire. We couldn’t be more excited for them to come back to the company they founded and helped build into what it is today.”
All key parties have posted about the deal to return, which appears to be a done deal minus some last minute paperwork. He said everything he has done over the past few days has been to keep the team together.
The Board of a Captured Profit Company: Remnant Sam Altman, the Board’s First Mansion, and his Disappointed Deputation
Sutskever did not appreciate it when I joked that the bizarre org chart that mapped out this relationship looked like something a future GPT might come up with when prompted to design a tax dodge. “We are the only company in the world which has a capped profit structure,” he admonished me. “Here is the reason it makes sense: If you believe, like we do, that if we succeed really well, then these GPUs are going to take my job and your job and everyone’s jobs, it seems nice if that company would not make truly unlimited amounts of returns.” To make sure that the profit-seeking parts of the company aren’t afraid to try to make money, there’s a board keeping an eye on things.
The board fired Sam Altman last week because it was no longer confident in him because he wasn’t consistently candid in his communications. Almost no one at the company knew of the firing until it was announced, and no examples of that alleged behavior were provided. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and others were not given advance notice. The board’s majority directors kicked OpenAI president and chairman Greg Brockman off the board. Brockman left immediately.
The board installed an interim CEO, Emmett Shear, and the employees followed him in an open letter after discussions about a possible return broke down at the weekend.
After removing Altman last Friday, the board originally appointed CTO Mira Murati as interim CEO. Greg Brockman, the company’s president, was removed from his position as chairman. Brockman quit several hours later.
The convoluted story of corporate intrigue might have made it hard for even the most dedicated person to imagine it. Questions continue to swirl around what had prompted his dismissal in the first place.
