United States: Mr. Sam Altman is set to return as the chief executive of OpenAI, as the ChatGPT developer said it had “reached an agreement in principle” for his reinstatement.
The announcement was made by the San Francisco-based company four days after the former CEO was fired. Following Mr. Altman’s surprise sacking, nearly all of Open AI’s workforce threatened to quit the firm unless the board revised their decision and brought back the former CEO.
The latest deal includes a new look board led by Mr. Bret Taylor, the former CEO of software firm Salesforce. It will further include Mr. Larry Summers, the former US Treasury secretary, and Mr. Adam D’Angelo, the tech entrepreneur and current board member, who also played a role in Mr. Altman’s firing.
“We have reached an agreement in principle for Mr. Sam Altman to return to OpenAI as CEO with a new initial board of Mr. Bret Taylor (Chair), Mr. Larry Summers, and Mr. Adam D’Angelo. We are collaborating to figure out the details. Thank you so much for your patience through this,” OpenAI posted on its official account on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“I love OpenAI, and everything I’ve done over the past few days has been in service of keeping this team and its mission together. I’m looking forward to returning to Open,” Mr. Altman shared on his social media account.
Microsoft, OpenAI’s biggest investor, has been pushing for Mr. Altman’s reinstatement. Recently, the firm hired Mr. Altman and OpenAI’s President, Mr. Greg Brockman, who quit after his colleague’s sacking. Mr. Brockman also stated on X that he was returning to OpenAI.
OpenAI confirmed to staff that it was in “intense discussions” to bring back Mr. Altman. If the return is made official, Mr. Altman will be OpenAI’s fourth CEO in five days.
Mr. Altman was initially replaced by Ms. Mira Murati, the company’s chief technology officer, as interim CEO before the board hired Mr. Emmet Shear, the co-founder of video game streaming platform Twitch, as a new temporary successor.
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