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Several OpenAI investors, including Microsoft, are calling for Sam Altman to be brought back as CEO after he was sensationally fired due to a ‘lack of communication’ with the board.
The tech company, which created artificial intelligence giant ChatGPT last year, fired Altman on Friday for not being “consistently forthcoming” with the company’s board.
News of his resignation took Silicon Valley by surprise, as the 38-year-old was hailed as a pioneer and one of the leading figures in the high-stakes world of AI.
Chief Technology Officer Mira Murati will serve as interim CEO.
Microsoft, Tiger Global, Thrive Capital and Sequoia Capital are among OpenAI’s top investors actively trying to reinstate Altman as CEO, according to reports.
Multiple OpenAI investors, including Microsoft, are calling for Sam Altman to be brought back as CEO after he was sensationally fired over a ‘lack of communication’ with the board
According to people familiar with the matter, they spoke with the WJAltman told investors that when he returns, he wants a new board and structure.
Microsoft, which has invested $13 billion in OpenAI, and Thrive Capital, its second-largest shareholder, have been in talks since Altman lost the top job 48 hours ago.
It’s OpenAI’s unusual governance structure, which Altman created, that got him fired. A non-profit board governs OpenAI – and Altman had no shares in the company, therefore he had little say in the board’s decisions.
This meant the board could kick Altman out without the consent of some of OpenAI’s multibillion-dollar backers, who were happy to have him at the helm of the tech company.
The sensational statement dismissing Altman read: “Altman’s departure follows a thoughtful review process by the Board, which concluded that he was not consistently forthright in his communications with the Board, compromising the Board’s ability to discharge its responsibilities practice was prevented.
“The board no longer has confidence in his ability to continue to lead OpenAI.”
OpenAI, founded by Altman and ten others in 2015, rolled out ChatGPT a year ago — and its ability to mimic human writing has since proven polarizing.
ChatGPT’s expansion occurred so quickly that the board became concerned about whether Altman was considering the security implications of its products – especially with regard to commercial offerings.
Pictured: Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Microsoft, which has invested $13 billion in OpenAI, is in talks to bring Altman back to his top job
Concerns that he was flouting security measures, raised by a fellow OpenAI board member, culminated in the 38-year-old’s sudden resignation, which sent the tech world into a frenzy and set off a firestorm of speculation.
In addition to raising concerns among the public, this uncertainty was apparently also felt within OpenAI’s six-member board, according to The New York Times report – especially by one of Altman’s co-founders, Ilya Sutskever.
In a series of interviews, people familiar with the matter described how the AI researcher had concerns about OpenAI’s nascent technology before the firing, and shared a belief that his boss was not paying enough attention to the risks.
Chief Operating Officer Brad Lightcap sent a memo to employees saying the firing “took us all by surprise.”
He said the new CEO has “our full support” but realized many employees would feel “confusion, sadness and fear.”
Lightcap said there was no wrongdoing in the decision to fire Altman.
Instead, there was a “breakdown in communication between Sam and the board.”
Going forward, the COO told the staff, “We are behind you 1000%.”
The memo, seen by Axiosread: ‘Team – Following yesterday’s announcement, which took us all by surprise, we have had multiple conversations with the board to try to better understand the reasons and process behind their decision.
“These discussions and options regarding our path forward are still ongoing this morning.
The ChatGPT boss was fired by OpenAI’s board, including chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, who reportedly raised security concerns with Altman about the future of AI
“We can say with certainty that the board’s decision was not made in response to any wrongdoing or anything related to our financial, business, safety or security/privacy practices.
‘This was a breakdown in communication between Sam and the board.
“Our position as a company remains extremely strong and Microsoft remains fully committed to our partnership. (Interim CEO) Mira (Murati) has our full support as CEO. We still share your concerns about the way the process was handled, are working to resolve the situation and will provide updates as possible.
“I’m sure you’re all feeling confusion, sadness and perhaps some fear. We are fully focused on handling this, strive for a solution and clarity and get back to work.
“Our collective responsibility right now is to our teammates, partners, users, customers and the broader world who share our vision for broadly beneficial AGI.
‘Hang in there, we are all behind you 1000%.’
Mira Murati, left, OpenAI’s chief technology officer has taken over as interim CEO effective immediately, the company said, as it searches for a permanent replacement
Altman was scheduled to be in talks with OpenAI executives again on Saturday evening, during which time he tweeted: ‘I love the OpenAI team so much’
In addition to talks with executives about possibly returning, Altman is also discussing the possibility of setting up his own company, insiders said.
Altman himself sent out a series of tweets Saturday evening, apparently regarding the situation, with one saying, “I love the OpenAI team so much.”
The possibilities of a return or a restart for Altman, seen by many as the face of generative AI, are in flux, according to a source, who asked not to be named because the source was not authorized to speak on behalf of the parties involved.
Kholsa Ventures, an early backer of OpenAI, wants Altman back at OpenAI but “will support him in whatever he does next,” the fund’s founder Vinod Khosla wrote on X on Saturday.
Microsoft declined to comment. It owns 49 percent of the company, while other investors and employees control 49 percent, with 2 percent owned by OpenAI’s nonprofit.
Emotions ran high Saturday as current and former employees were angry about Altman’s firing and worried about how an upcoming $86 billion stock sale could be affected by the sudden management upheaval.