Sudden Departures at OpenAI: Sam Altman Out as CEO Amidst Board Concerns Over Communication; President and Co-founder Greg Brockman Resigns
OpenAI Announces Termination of Sam Altman as CEO, Effective Immediately
“OpenAI Announces Departure of CEO Sam Altman Following Board Review; Lack of Consistent Communication Cited. Interim CEO Mira Murati Appointed, Search for Permanent Successor Underway.
In a blog post, OpenAI disclosed that Mr. Altman’s exit resulted from a comprehensive board review, revealing concerns about inconsistent communication hindering the board’s ability to fulfill its duties, eroding confidence in his leadership. Interim CEO Mira Murati has assumed the role immediately, and a search for a permanent successor is in progress. OpenAI employees reportedly learned of the development publicly.
Responding to inquiries, OpenAI’s communications department refrained from additional comments beyond the blog post. Altman, in a post on X, expressed gratitude for his transformative time at OpenAI, describing the experience of his departure as akin to ‘reading your own eulogy while you’re still alive.'”
i loved my time at openai. it was transformative for me personally, and hopefully the world a little bit. most of all i loved working with such talented people.
— Sam Altman (@sama) November 17, 2023
will have more to say about what’s next later.
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“OpenAI Update: Co-founder and President Greg Brockman Steps Down as Chairman of the Board, Will Continue with the Company.
OpenAI’s latest announcement revealed that Greg Brockman, co-founder, and president, will relinquish his role as chairman of the board but will continue his association with the company. Shortly after the announcement, Brockman confirmed his departure, stating on X, ‘I have resigned based on today’s news.'”
After learning today’s news, this is the message I sent to the OpenAI team: https://t.co/NMnG16yFmm pic.twitter.com/8x39P0ejOM
— Greg Brockman (@gdb) November 18, 2023
“In a subsequent post on X, Brockman disclosed that both he and Altman received notification of their removal from the board on Friday. The message came from OpenAI co-founder and chief scientist, Ilya Sutskever, who also serves on the board. Brockman expressed shock and sadness, stating, ‘Sam and I are shocked and saddened by what the board did today.'”
Sam and I are shocked and saddened by what the board did today.
— Greg Brockman (@gdb) November 18, 2023
Let us first say thank you to all the incredible people who we have worked with at OpenAI, our customers, our investors, and all of those who have been reaching out.
We too are still trying to figure out exactly…
“These recent developments mark an unexpected and swift change. Altman, who has prominently represented OpenAI, played a pivotal role in igniting the ongoing AI arms race, notably with the highly successful launch of ChatGPT last year. In a significant move just last week, Altman took the lead in delivering the keynote address at OpenAI’s inaugural DevDay conference, unveiling substantial updates aimed at rivaling major tech counterparts such as Microsoft and Google. Additionally, Altman participated as a speaker at Thursday’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference.”
“Altman has reportedly engaged in discussions with Jony Ive, Apple’s former chief design officer, exploring the prospect of creating the ‘iPhone of artificial intelligence.’ Altman, however, played down these rumors during a recent Wall Street Journal conference. As the largest shareholder in Humane, Altman is closely tied to the company, which recently initiated orders for its Humane AI Pin.
A co-founder of OpenAI, Altman initially served as co-chair alongside Elon Musk, who departed in 2018 to avoid conflicts of interest with Tesla, later founding his AI company, xAI.
In contrast to conventional private company boards, OpenAI’s board primarily comprises external members. Following Altman and Brockman’s exits, the remaining board members include the company’s chief scientist, Ilya Sutskever, Adam D’Angelo (CEO of Quora), Tasha McCauley (former CEO of GeoSim Systems), and Helen Toner (Director of Strategy at Georgetown’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology).”