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OpenAI investors are working to get rid of the company’s board and reinstate Sam Altman as CEO of the generative AI startup, people with direct knowledge of the situation say, which would amount to a spectacular counter-coup that they are convinced could do this be completed over the weekend.
A group of investors, including Microsoft and prominent venture capital firms, along with company employees explored ways to resolve the crisis, according to three people briefed on the discussions.
Those options include removing the board of the nonprofit that oversees OpenAI and reinstalling Altman, who was ousted from ChatGPT’s parent company on Friday, as well as co-founder Greg Brockman, who left the company hours later, sending shockwaves through Silicon Valley sent.
With the board and its supporters at an impasse Saturday evening, Altman posted on or reposted the tweet, often echoing Altman’s opinion.
“Since the minute [Altman was sacked] “It’s in the works,” said one of those involved in the effort to reinstate the former boss. Major investors in OpenAI, including Thrive Capital, Tiger Global and Sequoia Capital, contacted Microsoft and Altman over the weekend to explore possible next steps, according to the three people familiar with the discussions.
One of the people, a leading investor in OpenAI, is confident they can dispose of the board and reinstate Altman and Brockman before the weekend is over. Investors hope that Altman would return to a company “that has been his life’s work” and that Mira Murati, who was promoted from chief technology officer to interim CEO on Friday, would stay at the company, the person added.
But other venture funds are playing it safe and pledging to support Altman whatever he wants to do next, be it a return to OpenAI or starting a new company, according to two venture fund investors.
Vinod Khosla, an early venture backer of OpenAI, said Saturday evening that he wanted to see Altman back at OpenAI but “will support him in whatever he does next.”
Microsoft, Thrive Capital, Tiger Global and Sequoia declined to comment. OpenAI could not immediately be reached for comment.
The board said it fired Altman on Friday because he was not “consistently candid” in his discussions with them.
Investors and employees may refuse further support or leave the company to force the board to reinstate him. A plan to sell up to $1 billion in employee shares that was nearing completion is also in limbo due to a split between the board and investors. Thrive Capital was expected to lead that takeover bid, which was expected to value OpenAI at $86 billion.
The OpenAI board’s abrupt decision to oust Altman and demote Brockman drew attention Friday to the company’s unusual structure and leadership. This board oversees a nonprofit organization that owns a for-profit business.
Unlike a typical for-profit company, where shareholders have fiduciary duties, OpenAI’s board is committed to a charter committed to ensuring that AI is developed for the benefit of all humanity.
“They have damaged the company. In a real business, there is a fiduciary responsibility. The first rule for [OpenAI’s] Board is “do no harm” . . . They have caused enormous damage to the company,” said a person involved in the effort to reinstate Altman.
The board includes OpenAI’s chief scientist Ilya Sutskever and independent directors Adam D’Angelo, Quora’s CEO. technology entrepreneur Tasha McCauley; and Helen Toner of the Georgetown Center for Security and Emerging Technology.
OpenAI’s board has not publicly commented on what caused Altman’s separation beyond its statement Friday. According to investors, tensions over the speed with which the former chief executive wanted to deploy powerful AI tools had fueled concerns among the board that the security of those tools could be compromised. “They had an argument about moving too quickly. That’s all,” said one of the investors.
Additional reporting by Richard Waters in San Francisco