OpenAI’s top investors are pressuring the company to rehire Sam Altman as CEO following the board’s surprise decision to fire him on Friday, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
Microsoft Corp, the startup’s biggest backer with a stake of more than $10 billion, is working with investors such as Thrive Capital and Tiger Global Management to bring back Altman, said the sources, who preferred to remain anonymous. the question is settled.
As part of the effort to reinstate the CEO, investors are also pushing for the replacement of the current board, the people said. Councilors have considered resigning, although they are currently reluctant to such a move, they said. The situation is fluid and definitive plans have not yet been established. If the board resigns, investors are reviewing a list of potential new directors. One of the candidates is Bret Taylor, former co-CEO of Salesforce Inc.
OpenAI’s board has come under intense criticism for its decision to oust Altman, which surprised both investors and Altman himself. Over the years, Altman strove to transform the company from a nonprofit to a commercially successful business and was the driving force behind new tools that have revolutionized the way people perform tasks, from homework even coding. His dismissal did not sit well with the companies that supported OpenAI.
Thrive, which was expected to lead an employee takeover bid, has not yet transferred the money and has made clear to OpenAI that Altman’s departure will affect its shares. Thrive, OpenAI’s largest investor outside of Microsoft, is working to reinstate both Altman and Greg Brockman, the startup’s president who resigned on Friday in protest.
Altman is willing to return to the company, according to some of the people consulted. However, they said that if he returned, he would ask for changes to the way the company is governed.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has been in contact with Altman and has pledged to support him in any steps he takes in the future, the people said. Nadella was surprised by the board’s decision, according to people familiar with the situation.
Representatives for San Francisco-based OpenAI and Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft declined to comment, as did Thrive and Tiger Global.
Several employees, including OpenAI co-founder Brockman, have left the company in protest of Altman’s ouster. The resignations are likely to continue, the people said.
If he doesn’t return, Altman has been considering launching a new company, possibly with former OpenAI employees, according to several people. In a statement on
In a note sent to OpenAI staff on Saturday, COO Brad Lightcap said Altman’s dismissal “did not come in response to misconduct” or the company’s financial or security practices.
The decision to force Altman out, he said, “caught us all by surprise,” and he has since spoken to the board to better understand his decision, according to the memo, which was seen by Bloomberg.
“This is a failure in communication between Sam and the board,” Lightcap wrote, adding that Microsoft “remains fully committed” as an investor.
