2023-11-23 21:58:10
Sam Altman returned as CEO of OpenAI five days after his ouster, capping frantic discussions about the future of the startup at the center of an artificial intelligence boom.
The ChatGPT maker also unveiled a new initial board with former Salesforce co-CEO Bret Taylor as chairman and Larry Summers, former US Treasury secretary, and Adam D’Angelo as directors, which was part of the original board that had fired Altman.
Altman’s return could potentially usher in a new era for the startup that had long juggled concerns among staff about the dangers of AI and its commercialization potential.
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“I look forward to returning to OpenAI,” Altman said Tuesday in a post on an AI that benefits humanity.
Analysts said the reorganization will favor Altman and Microsoft, which has pledged billions of dollars to the startup and is rolling out its technology to its customers around the world.
Unlike most Silicon Valley startups, OpenAI is overseen by a nonprofit parent board designed to ensure AI safety is prioritized alongside growth.
It created the limited profit unit in 2019 to raise funds and grant stock options to its employees. The previous OpenAI board consisted of Tasha McCauley, Helen Toner and OpenAI chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, and Quora CEO D’Angelo.
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Altman’s dramatic turnaround drew comparisons in Silicon Valley lore to Steve Jobs, the Apple CEO who left the computer maker in a power struggle in 1985 only to return 12 years later.
His departure caused widespread upheaval at OpenAI, and president Greg Brockman resigned in protest. On Sunday, Altman was back at the OpenAI offices awaiting his quick appointment, when the board surprised again by naming former Twitch boss Emmett Shear as interim CEO.
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Altman’s masterstroke was made possible in part by Microsoft. When he lost his job, CEO Nadella said Altman could lead a new research team alongside Brockman and other colleagues leaving OpenAI.
On Monday, nearly the entire OpenAI staff of more than 700 had threatened to leave and join the Microsoft effort unless the board resigned and reinstated Altman.
This threat was backed by the enormous computing power of Microsoft, the key asset that powers OpenAI’s technology along with its staff of computer scientists.
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