OpenAI board of directors is discussing returning as CEO with Sam Altman

According to multiple people familiar with the matter, OpenAI’s board of directors is discussing with Sam Altman about returning to the company as CEO.One of the people familiar with the matter said Altman was was suddenly fired by the board of directors on Friday Feeling “ambivalent” about returning without any notice and wanting major governance changes.

Updated at 5:35 PM PT: A source close to Altman said the board agreed in principle to resign and allow Altman and Brockman to return, but has since been left in limbo — missing a crucial 5 p.m. PT deadline where many OpenAI employees were scheduled to leave. Resign within the time limit. When he opens a new company, those employees will definitely follow him.

Altman held talks with the company the day after he was ousted, suggesting that OpenAI is in free fall without him. His firing came just hours after OpenAI president and former board chairman Greg Brockman was fired, along with both men. Talk to friends and investors about starting another company.A range of senior researchers return On Friday, people close to OpenAI said more departures were on the way.

Microsoft, OpenAI’s largest investor, issued a statement shortly after Altman’s firing saying the company “remains committed” to its partnership with the AI ​​company. However, OpenAI investors were given no advance warning and no opportunity to comment on the board’s decision. The ouster of Altman, the face of the company and the most prominent voice in the field of AI, throws OpenAI’s future into uncertainty. Competitors are racing to catch up With the unprecedented rise of ChatGPT.

A spokesperson for OpenAI did not respond to a request for comment regarding Altman’s discussions with the board about his return. A Microsoft spokesman also declined to comment.

OpenAI’s current board of directors consists of chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, Quora CEO Adam D’Angelo, former GeoSim Systems CEO Tasha McCauley, and Georgetown Center for Security and Emerging Technology Director of Strategy Helen Toner. Their mission is to maximize shareholder value, and none of them holds equity in OpenAI. Instead, their stated mission is to ensure the creation of artificial general intelligence (AGI) that “broadly benefits”.

Sutskever is also a co-founder of OpenAI and leads its researchers, Played a major role in overthrowing Ultraman this weekHis role in the coup points to a power struggle between the company’s research and product divisions, according to multiple sources.