IT'S OVER! Sam Altman is BACK as CEO of OpenAI

New board includes Bret Taylor, Larry Summers

Author

Nathaniel Whittemore
November 22, 2023

The AI Breakdown First Five - Wednesday November 22, 2023

IT’S FINALLY OVER.

Sam Altman has officially been reinstated as CEO of OpenAI. Thus ends a 5-day stalemate that has gripped not only the AI space but the wider business world.

Yesterday evening, the reporting was focused on tensions between board member Helen Toner and Sam Altman. EA-aligned Toner had recently published research that ragged on OpenAI and lauded chief competitor Anthropic, which had caused Altman to be frustrated and even want to get her off the board. Responses to this were sort of a Rorschach test for how people were feeling about the whole situation on Twitter.

But then late in the evening PST (early morning EST) news finally came that an agreement had been reached and Sam would be returning to OpenAI.

This deal was not without its concessions. Altman agreed not to be on the board initially, which had apparently been a big sticking point in the debates. He also accepted Quora CEO Adam D’Angelo remaining on the board, even though he had wanted all of his fire-ers off. Finally, he accepted an internal investigation into his behavior that had led the board to the decision in the first place. Interestingly enough, it appears that Emmett Shear, who had been recruited over the weekend as interim CEO, was instrumental in the resolution.

Next up Sam and the Board have a lot of work to do restoring and building back trust. The board is currently three members, with the intention to grow to 9 eventually.

Thus ends this chapter of one of the craziest weeks in any business ever. A perfect time to sign off and take some time for gratitude.

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