Sam Altman returns to the position of CEO of OpenAI after 4 days of being ousted

Sam Altman has reached an agreement to return to OpenAI as CEO with a new board of directors.

In the official announcement on the X platform, noon November 22 Hanoi time, OpenAI said "an agreement in principle has been reached for Sam Altman to return". OpenAI has not announced details, but said Altman will serve as CEO with a new board of directors including Bret Taylor (Chairman), Larry Summers and Adam D'Angelo.

OpenAI did not mention Greg Brockman , who was removed from the board and left the company with Altman. However, on his personal page, Brockman said he will "return to OpenAI and return to writing code", suggesting that he may have another more technical role.

Sam Altman in testimony before the US Congress in May. Photo: Reuters

At the same time, Altman also shared about the new change on his personal page: "I love OpenAI. Everything I have done in the past few days has been aimed at keeping the team and mission together."

Regarding his decision to join Microsoft on November 20, Altman said it was the best path for his team at that time. However, now, this decision has changed when the company has established a new board of directors and received support from Microsoft CEO.

"With the new board and the support of Satya Nadella, I look forward to returning to OpenAI and building on our strong partnership with Microsoft," said Altman.

Sam Altman and OpenAI's decision to return received much support. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said he spoke with Altman and Brockman, then agreed that this return will ensure OpenAI continues to develop and stay true to its mission. However, he also believes that the company needs changes in the management board. "We believe this is an essential first step on the path towards more stable, informed and effective governance," he said.

"I'm happy for you," Elon Musk commented under Altman's post, not forgetting to repeat the joke comparing Microsoft Teams with Google Meet.

Emmett Shear, who has been interim CEO of OpenAI for less than three days, said he was "extremely pleased with this result after 72 hours of intense work". Shear believes this will be the right path to ensure both safety and suitability for stakeholders.

Meanwhile, Ilya Sutskever , the chief scientist behind the CEO's ouster, reshared OpenAI and Sam Altman's latest announcements but did not comment further.

Sam Altman has been a co-founder of OpenAI since 2015 and served as CEO before being fired via Google Meet on November 17. The overthrow is said to be due to disagreements in the direction of AI development, as Altman pushed to quickly commercialize the product, while the group of scientists, led by Sutskever, wanted to keep the mission of a non-governmental organization. profit, building general AI ( AGI ) in a direction that benefits humanity. The position of interim CEO of OpenAI was initially offered to OpenAI CTO Mira Murati , but she declined.

On November 19, Altman and OpenAI negotiated a return but failed. He then announced that he would join Microsoft to build a new team working on artificial intelligence. Emmett Shear, former CEO of Twitch, becomes interim CEO of OpenAI. Immediately afterward, more than 700 company employees wrote letters threatening to quit unless the board of directors disbanded and brought Altman back to the company. Ilya Sutskever also said he regretted his actions and wanted the company to reunite. On the fourth day, OpenAI held a second negotiation with Altman, bringing him back to the CEO position.

Luu Quy

More than 700 OpenAI employees threatened to quit
95% of 770 OpenAI employees "revolted" and signed an open letter, saying they would quit and join Microsoft, unless the company's board of directors resigned.  63

What did Elon Musk say when Microsoft hired Sam Altman?
Musk congratulated Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, and joked about Sam Altman having to use Teams instead of Google Meet.  27

Ilya Sutskever - the scientist behind the ouster of OpenAI CEO
Ilya Sutskever, OpenAI's chief scientist, is considered a central figure influencing the ouster of CEO Sam Altman.  55