In a surprising turn of events, OpenAI has announced the return of its ousted CEO and co-founder, Sam Altman, to lead the company. At the same time, OpenAI has dismantled its existing board and established a new initial board including Bret Taylor, ex-CEO of Salesforce (NASDAQ:CRM), former board member and Quora CEO Adam D’Angelo, and ex-Treasury Secretary Larry Summers. Taylor, who was also recommended by Altman to the board during initial talks about his possible return to the company, will be the chairman of the board.
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The new board will be responsible for vetting and appointing new members to the board (totaling nine members) and ensuring appropriate governance is in place. Interestingly, reports suggest that the majority owner, Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), and Altman himself are also seeking seats on the board. Furthermore, an independent agency will probe the entire saga of the ouster of Altman and the ensuing drama.
Moreover, Greg Brockman, who was also fired along with Altman on November 17, will be returning to OpenAI. In the meantime, the role of Emmett Shear, who was capped as OpenAI’s interim CEO, remains uncertain at the moment. Also, there is no clarity on Altman’s decision to join Microsoft’s new advanced AI research team.
OpenAI was threatened by mass employee exodus, full board removal, and lawsuits, which could have compelled the company to take this unusual decision. Even so, Altman’s return marks an end to the protracted drama between the company, its board, employees, investors, and Altman. In a post confirming his return to OpenAI, Altman said on X, “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.” Further details of Altman’s reinstatement will follow soon.
