OpenAI Announces Sam Altman Officially Reinstated as CEO with New Board Established
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On November 30th, according to foreign media reports, OpenAI announced that co-founder Sam Altman has officially returned as the CEO of OpenAI.
Approximately two weeks ago, on November 17th, the OpenAI board dismissed Altman. Hours after the announcement of Altman's dismissal, OpenAI's former president Greg Brockman also announced his resignation on platform X. This sudden personnel change shocked the entire tech industry.
On November 19th, Altman returned to OpenAI headquarters for negotiations in an attempt to come back, but the talks ultimately broke down. Subsequently, on the morning of November 20th, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced on social platform X that Altman and Brockman would join Microsoft to lead a new advanced artificial intelligence (AI) research team.
After Altman's dismissal, the majority of OpenAI employees signed a joint letter threatening to resign and join a newly established Microsoft subsidiary led by Altman and Brockman unless the OpenAI board reinstated Altman and Brockman and all current board members resigned.
On the evening of November 21, OpenAI announced on social platform X that it would rehire Sam Altman as CEO and form a new board. However, as part of the new agreement, Altman did not secure a seat on the board.
On November 28, an insider revealed that OpenAI is not expected to offer board seats to investors such as Microsoft, Khosla Ventures, Thrive Capital, and Sequoia Capital.
On November 29, Altman confirmed his return to OpenAI as CEO, while Brockman will resume his role as President. Mira Murati, who was appointed interim CEO, will return to her position as Chief Technology Officer.
Additionally, Altman outlined the company's three top priorities: advancing research initiatives, continuing to improve and deploy products while serving customers, and expanding the board.
Meanwhile, OpenAI officially established its new initial board, which will include Bret Taylor (former CEO of Salesforce and former Chairman of Twitter's board), Larry Summers (former U.S. Treasury Secretary), and Adam D'Angelo (CEO of Quora).