Sam Altman won’t be the CEO of OpenAI anymore. Emmett Shear, the former boss of Twitch, will be the new temporary CEO, according to a statement by OpenAI’s board director Ilya Sutskever.
Shear, who co-founded Twitch, left the Amazon-owned platform earlier this year. Despite efforts from OpenAI executives to bring Altman back as CEO, he has decided not to return, as mentioned by Sutskever. The report did not provide additional details, and Reuters could not confirm the statement.
Altman and former OpenAI President Greg Brockman gathered with executives at the company’s San Francisco headquarters on Sunday, following an invitation from interim CEO Mira Murati, as reported by The Information.
Altman is in discussions about a potential return to the company responsible for the ChatGPT bot. He is also exploring ways to enhance the company’s governance structure. Simultaneously, Altman is contemplating the launch of a new artificial intelligence (AI) venture, according to Reuters.
On Friday, the company’s board terminated Altman, a figure many associated with generative AI, causing significant ripples in the tech industry.
Altman shared an image on Sunday via the messaging platform X, showing himself wearing an OpenAI guest badge with the caption: “first and last time I ever wear one of these.
The abrupt removal of Altman stirred frustration among present and past employees, raising concerns about the potential impact on an impending $86 billion share sale due to the sudden management turmoil.
Brockman, OpenAI’s former president and co-founder, was also present at the office on Sunday, according to The Information. As part of the management reorganization, Brockman had resigned from the board’s chairman position and announced his departure from the company on Friday.
There are discussions about the possibility of Microsoft, OpenAI’s major supporter, joining the board if Altman decides to return, as reported by The Information on Sunday. According to two individuals familiar with the discussions, Microsoft is considering either securing a position on OpenAI’s board of directors or serving as a board observer without voting authority.
