Sam Altman has been fired as CEO of OpenAI

Sam Altman has been fired as CEO of OpenAI, the company announced on Friday. “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 company said in its blog post. “The board no longer has confidence in his ability to continue leading OpenAI.” Chief Technology Officer Mira Murati will be the interim CEO, effective immediately. The company will be searching for a permanent CEO successor. When contacted by The Verge, OpenAI’s communications department declined to comment beyond the blog post. According to multiple sources, employees at OpenAI found out about the news when it was publicly announced publicly. “I loved my time at OpenAI,” Altman said in a post on X (formerly Twitter). “It was transformative for me personally, and hopefully the world a little bit.” In a follow-up post, he described the experience of his firing as “sorta like reading your own eulogy while you’re still alive.” OpenAI’s announcement also said that co-founder and president Greg Brockman will be stepping down as board chairman but will remain at the company. Hours after it was published, Brockman posted to X that he had quit “based on today’s news.” Later, in another post on X, Brockman said he and Altman were notified of their removal from the board on Friday by OpenAI co-founder and chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, also a board member. “Sam and I are shocked and saddened by what the board did today,” Brockman wrote. This is a highly sudden turn of events. Altman has been the face of OpenAI, which kick-started the current AI arms race with last year’s hugely popular release of ChatGPT. Just last week, Altman led the keynote at the company’s first-ever DevDay conference, where it announced a suite of major new updates to compete with other big tech companies like Microsoft and Google. More recently, Altman spoke at Thursday’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference. Microsoft, which has invested billions in OpenAI, tells The Verge it will continue to partner with the company. “We have a long-term partnership with OpenAI and Microsoft remains committed to Mira and their team as we bring this next era of AI to our customers,” according to a statement sent by Microsoft spokesperson Frank Shaw. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella made a similar statement on X. Altman has reportedly talked with Jony Ive, Apple’s former chief design officer, about making the “iPhone of artificial intelligence,” though Altman downplayed those rumors at a recent Wall Street Journal conference. He’s also the biggest shareholder in Humane, which just launched orders for its Humane AI Pin. Altman is a co-founder of OpenAI and initially served as a co-chair of the company alongside Elon Musk. Musk left in 2018 to avoid a conflict of interest with Tesla. He has since founded his own AI company, xAI. Unlike traditional private company boards, OpenAI’s board consists mostly of outsiders. After Altman and Brockman’s departures, its remaining board members are the company’s chief scientist, Ilya Sutskever, Quora CEO Adam D’Angelo, Tasha McCauley, the former CEO of GeoSim Systems, and Helen Toner, the director of strategy at Georgetown’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology. Tom Warren contributed reporting.

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OpenAI has announced the termination of Sam Altman from his role as CEO, the company revealed last Friday.

The decision to let Mr. Altman go came after careful consideration by the board, which found his communication lacking in transparency, undermining their oversight functions. As a result, his continuance at the helm of OpenAI lost the board's support, as stated in a post on the company's official blog.

Mira Murati immediately takes over as acting CEO, while the hunt for a new permanent CEO is underway. OpenAI's PR team, reached out by The Verge, remained tight-lipped, offering no further details beyond what was shared in the blog post. It was also noted that OpenAI employees were informed about this significant change concurrently with the public via reports from various insiders.

Altman himself reflected on his tenure at OpenAI through X (which used to be Twitter), expressing that it was a period of significant personal growth and hoped it brought some positive change to the world. The news of his firing came as a surreal revelation, akin to reading his own memorial while still alive, he mentioned in a subsequent post.

According to the release, OpenAI's co-founder and president Greg Brockman is also stepping down from his role as the chairman of the board but will continue his involvement with the company. Brockman's departure, which he linked to the day's events, was later declared through another X post.

The announcement was an unexpected twist, especially considering Altman's prominence at OpenAI. The company has been instrumental in spearheading the prolific AI surge following last year's introduction of ChatGPT, a major player in the technology sector. Just prior to this turn of events, Altman was at the forefront of OpenAI's inaugural DevDay conference, announcing significant new updates to rival tech behemoths such as Microsoft and Google. Furthermore, Altman recently took part in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference the day before his dismissal.

Despite the changes at OpenAI, Microsoft—a key investor with billions at stake—remains resolute in its alliance with the company. Frank Shaw, a spokesperson for Microsoft, conveyed their ongoing commitment to Murati's leadership and the collaborative journey with their customers into this new AI era. Microsoft's CEO, Satya Nadella, echoed this sentiment in a statement on X.

Previously, there have been whispers about Altman collaborating with Jony Ive, previously Apple's chief design officer, on creating the "iPhone of artificial intelligence." However, Altman has played down such speculations in recent statements, like one at a Wall Street Journal event. He also remains a significant investor in Humane, which recently introduced the Humane AI Pin.

Initially, Altman co-founded OpenAI and co-chaired the company alongside Elon Musk, who parted ways in 2018 over potential conflicts of interest with Tesla. Musk has since established his own AI venture, xAI.

OpenAI has a distinctive board composition, primarily including independent members. Following the exits of Altman and Brockman, the remaining board consists of Ilya Sutskever, OpenAI's chief scientist; Adam D'Angelo, CEO of Quora; Tasha McCauley, former CEO of GeoSim Systems; and Helen Toner, director of strategy at Georgetown University's Center for Security and Emerging Technology.