OpenAI to bring Altman back as CEO

Sam Altman will return as CEO to OpenAI, the artificial intelligence company behind ChatGPT announced late Tuesday, capping off several days of tumultuous changes.

Altman will resume his position as CEO and a new initial board will be formed. Bret Taylor, former chair of Twitter before it was acquired by Elon Musk, will serve as its chair. Other members will include former U.S. Treasury Secretary Larry Summers and Quora co-founder Adam D’Angelo, OpenAI said in a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. 

D’Angelo is the only returning member from the previous board, which ousted Altman last Friday. 

“We are collaborating to figure out the details. Thank you so much for your patience through this,” OpenAI added.

In recent days, the company reportedly faced threats from hundreds of employees who said that they would quit unless Altman was brought back.

OpenAI over the weekend announced former Twitch CEO Emmett Shear would become its CEO, and Altman was hired to lead a generative AI team at Microsoft, which has invested heavily in OpenAI.

OpenAI President Greg Brockman also left the company after the news of Altman’s firing. Brockman, who had been hired by Microsoft amid the turmoil, said on X he would also be returning to OpenAI after the decision to bring back Altman.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said the tech giant is “encouraged” by the changes to the board and looks forward to a continued partnership with OpenAI with Altman and Brockman back at the company. 

“We are encouraged by the changes to the OpenAI board. We believe this is a first essential step on a path to more stable, well-informed, and effective governance. Sam, Greg, and I have talked and agreed they have a key role to play along with the OAI leadership team in ensuring OAI continues to thrive and build on its mission. We look forward to building on our strong partnership and delivering the value of this next generation of AI to our customers and partners,” Nadella said in a post on X.

Altman said he is looking forward to returning to the company and “building on our strong partnership with [Microsoft].”

“[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. when i decided to join msft on sun evening, it was clear that was the best path for me and the team. with the new board and w satya’s support, i’m looking forward to returning to openai, and building on our strong partnership with msft,” Altman said in a X post. 

–Updated at 11:43 a.m.