Sam Altman, one of the co-founders of the most prominent AI companies, OpenAI, is leaving the company. More accurately, Altman was fired from his position as CEO of the company.
News of Altman’s departure was delivered rather suddenly via the official OpenAI webpage. The official statement also indicates that the decision was unanimously made by the company’s board of directors and that it was “deliberate”. It’s not a stretch to say that this came as a surprise to everyone, even those inside the company; employees only found out about the move via the public announcement, and not before, several sources said.
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.
will have more to say about what’s next later.
🫡
— Sam Altman (@sama) November 17, 2023
“Mr. Altman’s departure follows a deliberative review process by the board, which concluded that he was not consistently candid in his communications with the board, hindering its ability to exercise its responsibilities. The board no longer has confidence in his ability to continue leading OpenAI.”
He isn’t the only one being ousted. His partner and co-founder, Greg Brockman will also be stepping down and while he has been asked to stay on, Brockman stated that he had decided to quit “based on today’s news”.
To say that Sam’s removal was abrupt and sudden, genuinely isn’t an understatement. Under both his and Brockman’s watch, the company led the charge for Generative AI with the launch of ChatGPT, and led the company’s first-ever DevDay conference very recently.
With both Altman and Brockman’s departure, CTO Mira Murati, will be the interim CEO, effectively immediately, while it searches for a more permanent successor to replace its co-founder.
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