Sam Altman, who was ousted as the CEO of OpenAI in a dramatic office takeover last Friday, is set to join Microsoft, as announced by the tech giant on Monday. Emmett Shear, the original CEO of Twitch, temporarily filled the leadership role at OpenAI during the transition.
In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Satya Nadella, the CEO of Microsoft, expressed anticipation in welcoming Emmett Shear. Additionally, Microsoft is excited to onboard Sam Altman, Greg Brockman, and other team members to spearhead a state-of-the-art AI research team.
Microsoft, the primary investor in OpenAI, will see Altman take the helm as the CEO of the “new class,” according to Nadella’s statement.
Meanwhile, Shear has been appointed as the interim CEO of OpenAI by the board, as reported by various news outlets such as The Data, Bloomberg, and the Financial Times. Despite inquiries from CNN, the company refrained from immediate comment.
The circumstances surrounding Altman’s dismissal remain vague. OpenAI stated that Altman’s lack of “nuance” at the table hindered the company’s ability to meet its commitments.
Amidst the speculation, Greg Brockman, a co-founder and former president of OpenAI, who departed following Altman’s exit, shed light on the situation in a post on X.
Brockman revealed that Altman was informed of his termination moments before it was made public. He attributed Altman’s firing to a disagreement with Ilya Sutskever, the company’s co-founder and lead scientist, over the direction of the research division.
According to sources familiar with the matter, tensions between Altman and the OpenAI board played a significant role in his removal, as reported by CNN contributor Kara Swisher. Altman advocated for a more aggressive approach to AI development, while the board preferred a more cautious strategy.
Altman had been pushing for the company to generate revenue from its products promptly and accelerate their deployment, despite his longstanding warnings about the risks associated with AI technology.
