On November the 17th, 2023, OpenAI’s board of directors announced CEO Sam Altman’s dismissal and President Greg Brockman’s subsequent removal from the board. Just four days later Altman was returned to his post.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
When Altman was fired, according to an OpenAI blog post<\/a>, Altman had not been \u2018candid\u2019 with the board<\/a>, and his communications weren’t sufficiently transparent. In the chaos that ensued, Altman and Brockman were set to join Microsoft on a new research team. Employees rebelled against OpenAI’s board, with the vast majority stating they’d quit unless the board reversed their decision.<\/p>\n Twitch co-founder Emmet Shear joined as CEO for a matter of days before Altman, through the force of collective action, was reinstated as CEO.<\/p>\n It’s probably the most extraordinary series of events in Silicon Valley company governance history.<\/p>\n Born in Chicago in 1985, Altman displayed a prodigious interest in technology from an early age. By eight, he was already programming and dismantling computers. In 2015, Altman co-founded OpenAI with other tech bosses like Elon Musk.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Prior to his role at OpenAI, Altman served as the president of Y Combinator, a prominent incubator for tech startups, starting in 2014. Under his leadership, Y Combinator saw a deluge of startup applications totaling 40,000 annually.<\/span><\/p>\n OpenAI initially started as a non-profit, but a<\/span>fter Musk’s departure in 2018, Altman took the reins as CEO of OpenAI.<\/span><\/p>\n Under his guidance, the company transitioned to a for-profit model in 2019, quickly securing a $1 billion investment from Microsoft. This is a key event in OpenAI’s history.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n It laid the groundwork for the development and public release of ChatGPT in November 2022. <\/span>At 38, Sam Altman was leading a company that gained a staggering 100 million users within two months. <\/span>The age of generative AI had thoroughly begun, and OpenAI sat firmly at the center of this new ecosystem.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ChatGPT\u2019s launch catalyzed a wave of AI funding in Silicon Valley, amounting to $17.9 billion, according to <\/span>Bloomberg<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n Despite ChatGPT’s success, OpenAI, under Altman’s leadership, has faced its share of challenges. Issues of intellectual property, data privacy, and the ethical integration of AI into society have sparked fierce debates.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n OpenAI operates under a unique governance model. Its board, composed of individuals who do not hold any equity in the company, is driven by a mission to create safe artificial general intelligence (AGI) that benefits humanity broadly rather than focusing on profits. AGI is AI that broadly equals or excels human cognition.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The board’s unusual setup reflects OpenAI’s commitment to its founding principles while reflecting its progression from its initial non-profit status in 2015 to a capped for-profit company.<\/span><\/p>\n In addition to Altman and Brockman, OpenAI’s board before the firing of Altman included:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n As of 26\/11\/23, OpenAI’s new board includes D’Angelo and:<\/p>\n OpenAI intends to expand the board to up to nine members.<\/p>\n The departure of Altman, who held only indirect shares in OpenAI through an investment by Y Combinator, where he was previously president, was a shock given his central role in the company.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n According to sources, he was not involved in the vote to remove him, indicating possible internal disagreements or shifts in vision for the company\u2019s future. <\/span><\/p>\n The removal of Brockman from the board and subsequent resignation contributed to the dramatic changes at the top of the organization.<\/span><\/p>\n Here’s a timeline of this rollercoaster of events:<\/p>\n Pre-November 17th, 2023<\/b><\/p>\n November 17th, 2023<\/b><\/p>\n November 17th, 2023 (post-announcement)<\/b><\/p>\n Sam and I are shocked and saddened by what the board did today.<\/p>\n Let us first say thank you to all the incredible people who we have worked with at OpenAI, our customers, our investors, and all of those who have been reaching out.<\/p>\n We too are still trying to figure out exactly\u2026<\/p>\n \u2014 Greg Brockman (@gdb) November 18, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\n<\/span><\/p>\nSam Altman\u2019s background at OpenAI<\/span><\/h2>\n
OpenAI’s unique board\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n
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A timeline of events of Altman\u2019s departure and return<\/span><\/h2>\n
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