OpenAI board fires Sam Altman as CEO, begins search for successor

Talk about a Friday news dump: today OpenAI, the company best known for ushering in the era of consumer-facing generative AI with ChatGPT and its underlying GPT-3.5 and GPT-4 Large Language Models (LLMs) today announced that it has taken the extraordinary step of immediately firing co-founder Sam Altman as CEO and replacing him with chief technology officer Mira Murati, who will serve as interim CEO while the company conducts a search for a full-time replacement.

The move was made by the OpenAI board of directors.

As a blog post on the OpenAI website reads of Altman: “He was not consistently candid in his communications with the board, hindering its ability to exercise its responsibilities. The board no longer has confidence in his ability to continue leading OpenAI.”

Altman’s sudden removal comes shortly after OpenAI’s DevDay developer conference, in which the company unveiled a host of new innovations including customizable user-generated GPTs, and amid ongoing public allegations of childhood abuse from his sister, Annie Altman.

In addition, OpenAI president Greg Brockman is also stepping down from that post but will remain at the company, according to the announcement. OpenAI’s board includes “OpenAI chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, independent directors Quora CEO Adam D’Angelo, technology entrepreneur Tasha McCauley, and Georgetown Center for Security and Emerging Technology’s Helen Toner,” and, until today, co-founder and CEO Sam Altman, and Brockman.

Under Altman, OpenAI achieved notable innovations like its GPT LLMs but also drew criticism over transparency and ethics issues as it rapidly expanded capabilities.

The board stated that “OpenAI was deliberately structured to advance our mission: to ensure that artificial general intelligence benefits all humanity.” They remain committed to this founding purpose.

Altman helped establish OpenAI in 2015 alongside Brockman, Chief Scientist Ilya Sutskever, Elon Musk, and others. He served as CEO for eight years overseeing growth from an unknown startup to a leading AI powerhouse.

The board now believes “new leadership is necessary as we move forward” to maintain focus on OpenAI’s mission during its next phase of development.

Murati has been with OpenAI for 5 years and currently oversees research, product development, and safety.

Read the full OpenAI blog post on the matter below:

Chief technology officer Mira Murati appointed interim CEO to lead OpenAI; Sam Altman departs the company.

Search process underway to identify permanent successor.

The board of directors of OpenAI, Inc, the 501(c)(3) that acts as the overall governing body for all OpenAI activities, today announced that Sam Altman will depart as CEO and leave the board of directors. Mira Murati, the company’s chief technology officer, will serve as interim CEO, effective immediately.

A member of OpenAI’s leadership team for five years, Mira has played a critical role in OpenAI’s evolution into a global AI leader. She brings a unique skill set, understanding of the company’s values, operations, and business, and already leads the company’s research, product, and safety functions. Given her long tenure and close engagement with all aspects of the company, including her experience in AI governance and policy, the board believes she is uniquely qualified for the role and anticipates a seamless transition while it conducts a formal search for a permanent CEO.

Mr. Altman’s departure follows a deliberative review process by the board, which concluded that he was not consistently candid in his communications with the board, hindering its ability to exercise its responsibilities. The board no longer has confidence in his ability to continue leading OpenAI.

In a statement, the board of directors said: “OpenAI was deliberately structured to advance our mission: to ensure that artificial general intelligence benefits all humanity. The board remains fully committed to serving this mission. We are grateful for Sam’s many contributions to the founding and growth of OpenAI. At the same time, we believe new leadership is necessary as we move forward. As the leader of the company’s research, product, and safety functions, Mira is exceptionally qualified to step into the role of interim CEO. We have the utmost confidence in her ability to lead OpenAI during this transition period.”

OpenAI’s board of directors consists of OpenAI chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, independent directors Quora CEO Adam D’Angelo, technology entrepreneur Tasha McCauley, and Georgetown Center for Security and Emerging Technology’s Helen Toner.

As a part of this transition, Greg Brockman will be stepping down as chairman of the board and will remain in his role at the company, reporting to the CEO.

OpenAI was founded as a non-profit in 2015 with the core mission of ensuring that artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity. In 2019, OpenAI restructured to ensure that the company could raise capital in pursuit of this mission, while preserving the nonprofit’s mission, governance, and oversight. The majority of the board is independent, and the independent directors do not hold equity in OpenAI. While the company has experienced dramatic growth, it remains the fundamental governance responsibility of the board to advance OpenAI’s mission and preserve the principles of its Charter.

Originally appeared on: TheSpuzz