Sam Altman has been fired as CEO of OpenAI, as announced by the company on November 17, 2023. The decision came after a review process by the board, which concluded that Altman was not consistently candid in his communications with the board, affecting their ability to exercise their responsibilities. Consequently, the board lost confidence in his ability to continue leading OpenAI.
Mira Murati, the Chief Technology Officer, has been appointed as the interim CEO, and the company is in the process of searching for a permanent successor. OpenAI’s communications department declined to comment beyond the blog post announcing the change.
In addition to Altman’s departure, Greg Brockman, co-founder and president of OpenAI, also stepped down as chairman of the board but initially planned to remain at the company. However, following the announcement, Brockman posted that he had quit based on the day’s news.
The removal of Altman and Brockman from the board was communicated by OpenAI co-founder and chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, who is also a board member. This development represents a significant and sudden change for OpenAI, especially considering Altman’s prominent role in leading the company and its recent initiatives, such as the release of ChatGPT and other major updates.
Microsoft, which has invested billions in OpenAI, stated through a spokesperson that it remains committed to its partnership with OpenAI and supports the interim leadership.
Sam Altman, a co-founder of OpenAI, had been a significant figure in the company since its inception, initially serving as a co-chair alongside Elon Musk, who left in 2018. The current board of OpenAI, primarily consisting of outsiders, includes Ilya Sutskever, Quora CEO Adam D’Angelo, Tasha McCauley (former CEO of GeoSim Systems), and Helen Toner (director of strategy at Georgetown’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology).