one year on
OpenAI Board in Talks With Sam Altman to Return as CEO
The ousted CEO is considering a comeback less than 48 hours after his firing, demanding major governance changes.
The OpenAI board is in discussions with Sam Altman to return as CEO, less than 48 hours after ousting him Friday, according to a report from The Verge cited by Bloomberg. Altman, who was fired unexpectedly, is ambivalent about returning and would require significant managerial and governance changes, with one scenario under discussion involving a transitional board role, sources say. Investors including Microsoft, Thrive Capital, Khosla Ventures, Tiger Global Management and Sequoia Capital are pressuring the board to resolve the crisis before Thanksgiving.
Interim CEO Emmett Shear, who took over from OpenAI CTO Mira Murati, has reportedly been left in the dark for the most part and, Bloomberg sources say, doesn’t plan to stick around if the board can’t clearly communicate its reasoning. OpenAI employees are in open revolt: more than 700 of the company’s roughly 770 staff, including co-founder Ilya Sutskever, have signed a letter demanding the board resign and reinstate Altman. Competitors like Salesforce and Microsoft have offered matching compensation to any departing AI researcher.
The record
More than 700 of roughly 770 employees sign letter calling for board to resign and reinstate Altman
One year later — open only if you can handle spoilers
Altman returned as CEO within days, and the board was restructured with new members including Bret Taylor. The brief exile solidified Microsoft's role as OpenAI's key backer and set the stage for years of governance tension.