Microsoft hires Sam Altman, hours after OpenAI rejected his return

The board of directors of OpenAI, the high-flying artificial intelligence startup, said in a letter to employees on Sunday evening that its former chief, Sam Altman, would not return to his job while he appoints his second interim replacement. called two years. to dawn.

Hours later, in another staggering move, Microsoft said it was hiring Mr. Altman and Greg Brockman, the president of OpenAI and a co-founder of the company, who resigned in solidarity with Mr. Altman. The two men will lead an advanced research laboratory at Microsoft.

At OpenAI, former Twitch CEO Emmett Shear will replace Mira Murati as interim chief, the board said. Ms. Murati, a longtime OpenAI executive, was subsequently appointed to that role Mr. Altman’s resignation on Friday. The board said Mr. Shear has a “unique blend of skills, expertise and relationships that will advance OpenAI,” according to the memo obtained by The New York Times.

At Microsoft, Satya Nadella, the tech giant’s CEO, said Mr. Altman would become CEO of the new research lab, which would “set a new pace for innovation,” in stark contrast to OpenAI’s board’s desire to err on the side of caution in the development of AI. technology. Mr. Nadella noticed in a message to X, formerly known as Twitter, that Mr. Altman’s new group will operate as an independent entity within Microsoft.

Mr. Nadella left room for other unnamed colleagues who could join Microsoft’s two co-founders. “We look forward to taking swift action and providing them with the resources necessary for their success,” he said.

Mr. Altman replied cryptically: write on X, “the mission continues.” By Monday morning, more than 550 of OpenAI’s 700 employees had signed a letter saying they might quit joining Mr. Altman’s new project at Microsoft unless the startup’s board resigned, three said people who had viewed the letter.

A Microsoft spokesperson declined to comment beyond Mr. Nadella’s messages to X. The letter was previously reported by Wired.

Mr. Altman’s resignation shocked the technology industry and OpenAI’s investors, including Microsoft, Sequoia Capital and Thrive Capital. Microsoft, which has invested more than $13 billion in OpenAI, only learned of Mr. Altman’s departure a minute before the announcement, while other investors discovered he had been forced out via social media. They received no further information or updates this weekend.

“The board remains resolute in its decision as the only path to advance and defend OpenAI’s mission,” the memo said on Sunday, referring to Mr Altman’s resignation from the company on Friday. It was signed by each of the four directors on the company’s board of directors; Adam D’Angelo, Helen Toner, Ilya Sutskever and Tasha McCauley.

“Simply put, Sam’s conduct and lack of transparency in his interactions with the board of directors undermined the board’s ability to effectively oversee the company in the manner he was instructed to do,” the memo said.

The departure of Mr. Altman, 38, also drew attention to a divide in the AI ​​community between people who believe AI is the most important new technology since Web browsers and others who worry that moving too quickly in developing it could be dangerous. could be. Mr. Sutskever in particular was concerned that Mr. Altman was too focused on building OpenAI’s business while not paying enough attention to the dangers of AI.

The board’s decision to fire Mr. Altman came as a shock to industry allies and rank-and-file employees who supported the charismatic founder. Silicon Valley investors and tech executives expressed support for Mr. Altman and Mr. Brockman. On Friday evening, Mr. Altman pitched a new AI startup to investors and planned to co-found the company with Mr. Brockman.

Since OpenAI released its popular ChatGPT chatbot nearly a year ago, artificial intelligence has captured the public’s imagination with hopes that it can be used for important work like drug research or to teach children. But some AI scientists and political leaders worry about its risks, such as automated job losses or autonomous warfare that goes beyond human control.

OpenAI has been at the center of that discussion, along with its former CEO, who has done more than anyone in the past year to make artificial intelligence a mainstream topic.

The board did not cite any specific incidents involving Mr. Altman as a reason for removing him. Instead, it was alleged that Mr. Altman had “lost the confidence of the board of directors” and that removing him was “necessary to preserve the board’s ability to carry out its responsibilities and further its mission.” organization.”

“It is of the utmost importance that every CEO is honest and transparent with his or her board,” the memo said.

OpenAI and Mr. Altman did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The AI ​​company has an unusual governance structure. It is controlled by a nonprofit’s board of directors, which can decide the company’s leadership, and its investors have no formal way to influence decisions.

Some OpenAI employees vowed to leave OpenAI or join Mr. Altman’s new potential venture if the board did not relent. But even as Mr. Altman made his pitch for a new company, investors pushed for the return of Mr. Altman and Mr. Brockman.

Throughout the weekend, Mr. Altman and his supporters pressured OpenAI’s board with calls from venture capitalists, other technology executives and employees. Microsoft led the charge, three people said, and smaller investors channeled their concerns through Microsoft.

The effort, the people said, was intended to show the company’s board how popular Mr. Altman was among OpenAI employees and in Silicon Valley.

The lack of details about the reasons behind Altman’s ouster emboldened his supporters. Some argued that OpenAI’s nonprofit board could no longer support the company that OpenAI had become — a company with 700 employees, countless customers and business partnerships that is on track to reach $1 billion in annual revenue.

Mr. Altman, Mr. Brockman and Mr. Sutskever created OpenAI in 2015 along with nine others, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk. The group founded the AI ​​lab as a nonprofit and said that, unlike Google and other tech giants, it would not be driven by commercial incentives.

In 2018, after Mr. Musk parted ways with OpenAI, Mr. Altman transformed the lab into a for-profit company controlled by the nonprofit and its board. Over the next few years, he raised the billions of dollars the company would need to build technologies like ChatGPT.

Before joining OpenAI, Mr. Shear led Twitch through its transformation from a new platform called Justin.tv to a behemoth that was acquired by Amazon in 2014. He stayed on after the tech giant took over and only left earlier this year, saying he was having a child.

Mr. Shear, a longtime video gamer, was seen as a competent leader at Twitch but had his critics. It was felt that he was too focused on cutting costs and turning the money-losing site into a more profitable business.

“We apologize for the abruptness of the process that we felt was necessary due to the situation,” the board said in its memo. “Even as we understand the questions it has raised, we continue to believe our actions were necessary.”

When OpenAI employees signed the letter Monday saying they were leaving to join Mr. Altman’s new project at Microsoft, one name stood out: Mr. Sutskever. He posted a message to X saying he deeply regretted his role in the board’s decision.

“It was never my intention to harm OpenAI,” he said. “I love everything we have built together and I will do everything I can to reunite the company.”

Kellen Browning, Karen Weise, Erin Griffith And Tripp Mickle reporting contributed.