ChatGPT creator OpenAI was considered an unstoppable force in artificial intelligence, growing from a nonprofit to an $80 billion company in just a few years – all under the leadership of co-founder and CEO Sam Altman.
But a “boardroom coup” on Friday led his top team to turn against him, leading to a shock sacking that unleashed three days of chaos at a company seen as confident at its peak.
The news “blindsided” employees and sparked outrage among investors, including Microsoft, which owns about 49 percent of the shares and whose CEO Satya Nadella was reportedly furious when he learned of the decision at the last minute.
The high-profile firing of Altman, widely revered as the driving force behind the San Francisco company, sparked growing support among his colleagues and investors, prompting executives to try to reverse the decision.
Altman was said to be open to returning if a new board and governance system would replace those who removed him, but instead he was unceremoniously sent away – sending the AI world into ruin.
Just hours later, Microsoft made its move — one that would once again shake up the industry — by putting Nadella Altman and his allies in charge of an innovative new AI team.
The dramatic twists didn’t end there, and in an open letter to the company’s insurgent board, 505 of OAI’s 700 employees expressed a lack of trust in the company’s leadership.
Surprisingly, among the signatories was Ilya Sutskever, himself a board member, who supported the decision to fire Altman, before expressing his “regret” over the decision, as one analyst brutally described it: “Ctrl, Altman, delete.”
Sam Altman will reportedly not return as CEO of ChapGPT maker OpenAI, according to a statement to company employees
Sam Altman was taken over by Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, leading to a dramatic shakeup in the world of AI
Altman, a Stanford dropout, is widely seen as the driving force behind OpenAI’s success since it was founded in 2015 by 10 investors and entrepreneurs.
The Chicago-born tech entrepreneur launched OpenAI in 2012 after the lucrative sale of Loopt, an app he founded with two of his classmates, alongside Tesla boss Elon Musk – who left the company in 2018 after disputes with the board.
He transformed it from a nonprofit to a limited-profit company and helped attract new investors.
A major breakthrough came in 2019 when Microsoft invested $1 billion in OpenAI, largely in the form of computing credits, in return for a role in the future commercialization of its technologies.
The company became increasingly successful and began to focus on developing natural language processing and bringing popular generative AI tools to the public.
It launched its famous ChatGPT almost exactly a year ago, on November 30, 2022, when Altman tweeted that it had reached over 1 million users in just five days.
Then in January, Microsoft poured even more money into the company, announcing it would make a “billion-dollar” investment in OpenAI.
Although the specific details were not disclosed, it is believed that Microsoft’s investment was worth $10 billion.
But after an incredible year of success in which the ChatGPT system became arguably the most viral application in the history of the technology, few expected the company to go belly up.
Sam Altman, right, with his friend Oliver Mulherin, left, at a White House dinner in late June
The 38-year-old CEO reportedly received a text message from a fellow board member asking him to join an impromptu video call. During that call Friday, Altman was told he had been fired.
“We are grateful to Sam for his many contributions to the founding and growth of OpenAI,” said a statement from OpenAI’s board on Friday. “At the same time, we are convinced that new leadership is necessary as we move forward.”
The firing was the result of a culture clash at the top of OpenAI over the pace of development, and the public statement was that he had been “not consistently open” to the board.
The coup was led by board member Ilya Sutskever, who reportedly has concerns about the dangers of AI.
Just a day later, Altman was in talks with the board about returning.
On Sunday, crisis talks took place at the OAI headquarters, which were probably mediated by Microsoft boss Nadella, who was surprised by his dismissal and desperately wanted to bring him back.
But the discussions ended with Altman leaving the building for the final time and OAI announcing that former Twitch CEO Emmett Shear would be installed as interim chief executive at the tech giant.
An angry Nadella, desperate to remain at the forefront of AI, seized the opportunity and, in a devastating move just three hours later, brought Sam Altman along with AOI co-founder Greg Brockman to Microsoft, turning AOI’s largest investor into a competitor.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella made the bombshell announcement on X this morning
Surprisingly, one of the signatories was Ilya Sutskever, himself a board member, who supported the decision to fire Altman
Timeline of Altman’s fall
Friday: Reports surfaced that Sam Altman was fired, prompting the tech tycoon to
Jakob Pachocki and his co-founder Greg Brockman were apparently surprised by the firing and both quit late Friday evening in protest at the alleged ambush.
Saturday: Executives tried to bring him back, and a leaked memo to staff suggested the company was “optimistic” about his possible return.
Sunday: Reports began circulating that he was willing to return if there was a change in the board and management.
Altman then disputed the rumors by posting a snap of himself using an OpenAI guest pass while visiting his old employer on
Monday: Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced that Altman and OAI co-founder Greg Brockman will join the company to lead a new AI innovation team.
Former Twitch leader Emmett Shear has taken over as interim head of OpenAI.
Investor anger was matched by a wave of employee anger and support for ex-boss Altman, who helped propel their company to the top of the AI world.
As the drama continued to unfold three days after his shocking dismissal, the man who masterminded it, Ilya Sutskever, now found himself at a professional impasse and apologizing. In a post on X, formerly Twitter, he said: “I deeply regret my involvement in the board’s actions.” I never intended to harm OpenAI. “I love everything we have built together and I will do everything I can to reunite the company.”
But the regret came too late.
Now, in an open letter to the company’s board, which voted to remove Altman on Friday, the group said it was obvious “that you are unable to oversee OpenAI.”
Employees who signed the letter said that if the board does not resign, they “may choose to resign en masse” and join “the newly announced Microsoft subsidiary led by Sam Altman.”
Sutskever, a board member widely believed to have made the decision to fire Altman, tweeted his “regret” on Monday and added his name to the letter.
The company is now headed by Emmett Shear, the former head of Twitch, who has promised an investigation into the board’s decision to fire Altman.
Instead of returning to OAI, Altman and his co-founder Greg Brockman, who resigned in protest of his firing, are expected to continue developing AI products at Microsoft.
Brockman announced the recruitment of several key OpenAI managers for these projects, which Nadella said will be “independent” and “innovative.”
Altman has indicated that he will pick up where they left off at OAI and hinted that there is unfinished business at OAI when he tweeted, “The mission continues.”
Meanwhile, Brockman vowed, “We’re going to build something new and it’s going to be incredible” – combative words that will inspire excitement among tech enthusiasts and terror among Microsoft competitors.
Now the tech world is holding its breath, waiting to see what the next part of this unprecedented saga brings.