Intense speculation has been circulating after a video of the ousted OpenAI CEO shows him announcing a major breakthrough that will “push the frontiers of discovery.”
Sam Altman, 38, was forced out of the company because of a “lack of communication” with board members. Many sources said this was due to his “uncontrolled” desire for progress and lack of attention to risk.
Just a day before his firing, he quietly boasted about his new ventures alongside world leaders at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.
Altman also spent the last few weeks raising billions from investors for an ambitious new chip company – traveling across the world to the Middle East to raise money, it has now emerged.
Bloomberg reports that its new chip contender was codenamed Tigris and was still in its infancy. The company was trying to create an AI-focused chip company that could produce semiconductors.
Speculation ran wild over the weekend – particularly after Altman’s speech at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) resurfaced – and is now being examined with fresh eyes following Friday’s news
Sam Altman posted a picture of himself wearing an OpenAI guest pass on Sunday – he said it was the first and last time he would use one
This would have allowed OpenAI to compete with Nvidia Corp., which currently dominates this AI space. to compete.
In addition to his chip ambitions, Altman tried to raise money for an AI-focused hardware device after partnering with SoftBank Group Corp. and the Mubadala Investment Company.
This all happened at the same time that OpenAI was working to allow employees to sell their shares at a valuation of $86 billion, backed by one of its main investors, Thrive Capital.
Thrive Capital, along with Microsoft, has been in discussions over the last 48 hours to bring Altman back to his position.
Speculation ran wild over the weekend – particularly after Altman’s speech at APEC resurfaced – and is now being examined with new eyes following Friday’s news.
Altman expressed optimism as he spoke about ChatGPT and the steps it is taking in artificial intelligence at the summit in San Francisco on Thursday.
Just 24 hours before his release, he said at APEC: “I think this will be the most transformative and useful technology that humanity has yet invented.”
“On a personal note, four times in the history of OpenAI, the most recent time in the last few weeks, I have been privileged to be in the room as we… push back the veil of ignorance and cross the line of… discovery ahead.”
He called it “the professional honor of a lifetime.”
Just one day later he was sensationally released.
Greg Brockman and Jakub Pachocki both tendered their resignations when Sam Altman was fired
Aleksander Madry and Szymon Sidor both resigned after it was announced that Sam Altman had been fired
After re-watching the summit video, one person wrote: “I wonder if the breakthrough he is referring to has raised the stakes so much that it has impacted the current situation.”
Another added: “I also wonder, completely speculatively, if the public mention was the final straw that gave him a coup in a matter of hours.”
News of his firing surprised Silicon Valley as the 38-year-old was hailed as a pioneer and a leading figure in the high-risk world of AI.
Chief Technology Officer Mira Murati will serve as interim CEO.
OpenAI President Greg Brockman, Research Director Jakub Pachocki, Head of Preparation Aleksander Madry, and Senior Researcher Szymon Sidor all quit their jobs at the company upon hearing the news of Sam’s firing.
Microsoft, Tiger Global, Thrive Capital and Sequoia Capital are reportedly among OpenAI’s top investors who are actively seeking to reinstate Altman as CEO.
Altman told investors that if he returns, he wants a new board and structure, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke to the WSJ.
Microsoft, which 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 is OpenAI’s unusual governance structure that Altman created that got him fired. OpenAI is governed by a nonprofit board of directors — and Altman had no ownership stake in the company, so he had little say in the board’s decisions.
That meant the board could kick Altman out without the approval of some of OpenAI’s billionaire backers who were happy with him at the helm of the tech company.
Founded in 2015 by Altman and 10 others, OpenAI launched ChatGPT a year ago — and its ability to mimic human writing has proven polarizing ever since.
ChatGPT’s expansion happened so quickly that the board had concerns about whether Altman was considering the security implications of its products – particularly with regard to commercial offerings.
Concerns raised by another OpenAI board member that he was flouting security measures culminated in the 38-year-old’s sudden firing – sending the tech world into turmoil and a storm of speculation.
Chief Operating Officer Brad Lightcap sent a memo to employees saying the layoff “caught us all by surprise.”
Several OpenAI investors, including Microsoft, are pushing to bring Sam Altman back as CEO after he was sensationally fired for a “lack of communication” with the board
He said the new CEO had “our full support” but acknowledged that many employees would feel “confusion, sadness and fear.”
Lightcap said the decision to fire Altman was not “misconduct.”
Instead, it was a “breakdown in communication between Sam and the board.”
Going forward, the COO told employees: “We are behind you 1000%.”
The memo, viewed by Axios, read: “Team – following yesterday’s announcement, which took us all by surprise, we have had several conversations with the board to try to better understand the reasons and process behind their decision.”
“These discussions and options regarding our future course of action continue this morning.”
“We can definitively say that the board’s decision was not made in response to any misconduct or anything related to our financial, business, security 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 continue to share your concerns regarding the handling of the process, are working to resolve the situation, and will provide updates as possible.
The ChatGPT boss was fired by OpenAI’s board, including chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, who had reportedly raised security concerns about the future of AI to Altman
Mira Murati (left), OpenAI’s chief technology officer, has taken over as interim CEO effective immediately, the company said, while it searches for a permanent replacement
“I’m sure you’re all confused, sad and maybe a little scared. We are fully focused on getting through this, working toward resolution and clarity, and getting back to work.
“Our collective responsibility at this time is to our teammates, partners, users, customers and the entire world that shares our vision of universally beneficial AGI.”
“Hold on, we are behind you 1000%.”
In addition to discussions with executives about a possible return, Altman is also discussing the possibility of starting his own company, insiders said.
Altman himself apparently sent a series of tweets on Saturday night regarding the situation, saying, “I love the OpenAI team so much.”
The possibilities of a return or reboot for Altman, seen by many as the face of generative AI, are in flux, said a source who asked not to be identified because the source was not authorized to speak on behalf of those involved parties to speak.
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, posted 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 parent company.