Sam Altman will return as CEO of OpenAI following a disagreement with the company’s board that lasted several days.
OpenAI announced today that it had reached an “agreement in principle” for Altman to resume his role as CEO alongside a new interim board.
It appears that the purpose of this interim board, which includes Bret Taylor (chair), Larry Summers, and Adam D’Angelo, is to appoint a new, expanded board of up to 9 members to help rebuild the governance at OpenAI.
Sam Altman was fired as OpenAI CEO on Friday by its board members, and then he tried over the weekend to get brought back but failed.
Microsoft hired him and several other OpenAI employees to join that company to form a new AI team, but then most of OpenAI’s employees signed a letter demanding the board bring Altman back, or they might resign.
In the letter, the employees stated that in their opinion, the current board’s conduct “has made it clear you did not have the competence to oversee OpenAI.”
During the turmoil, interim CEOs Mira Murati and Emmett Shear stepped in but could not quell the unrest over Altman’s ouster.
Sources say Shear threatened to resign if the board could not justify its decision, adding pressure for a resolution.
Key board member Ilya Sutskever also switched sides and backed Altman’s reinstatement.
With dwindling support, the remaining three board members agreed to negotiate Altman’s return along with co-founder Greg Brockman, who resigned in protest last week.
