OpenAI has announced that it has reached an agreement with Sam Altman so that one of the creators of ChatGPT who popularized artificial intelligence (AI) will once again be the company’s CEO after being fired last week.
His dismissal sparked a weekend of internal strife at the company and mounting external pressure from the startup’s investors. Microsoft, which has invested billions of dollars in OpenAI and has rights to its technology, then showed public interest in hiring him.
“I love OpenAI and everything I’ve done in recent days has been to keep this team and its goal together. When I decided to join Microsoft on Sunday afternoon, it was clear that this was the best path for me and the team “With the support of the new board, I look forward to returning to OpenAI and building on our strong partnership with Microsoft,” Altman wrote on his X account.
OpenAI on Monday named former Twitch boss Emmett Shear as interim CEO, while outgoing boss Sam Altman was Microsoft’s bet, coming to its rescue. Altman, 38, will now return to OpenAI as CEO in what is expected to be a new alliance with the technology giant founded by Bill Gates with a new initial board consisting of Bret Taylor, Larry Summers and Adam D’Angelo.
After the dismissal of Sam Altman as CEO of OpenAI, the future of the company that created ChatGPT had been in question. His leadership, according to OpenAI workers, had been key to the company’s success. The veneration that the OpenAI team feels towards Sam Altman is such that even Greg Brockman, co-founder of the company – also reinstated – resigned from his position after his dismissal. Almost all OpenAI employees (about 770) came to sign a letter calling for Altman’s return and dismissal from the board.
SiliconValley, investors and the market praise Altman’s figure. For this reason, Microsoft immediately showed interest in hiring him and offering him a laboratory so that he could continue his work. Microsoft is the main shareholder of OpenAI with $13 billion and the unifier of investor pressure for Altman to return to the company in which he participated as one of the founders.