After Sam Altman was ousted from OpenAI, Microsoft and other investors in the company began lobbying the board for his rehabilitation. In addition, several key executives also left the company.
Microsoft and other OpenAI investors lobby for Sam Altman’s return
This weekend, OpenAI’s board of directors announced the surprising dismissal of its CEO and co-founder Sam Altman.
But now, after the initial surprise effect has passed, the company’s investors have begun to put pressure on the board of directors to reinstate Sam Altman, according to a report by our colleagues at Bloomberg. These investors include Microsoft, which has invested $10 billion in OpenAI, as well as Thrive Capital and Tiger Global Management.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella was reportedly “blindsided” and “infuriated” by the news, and promised Sam Altman that he would “support him in whatever he does next”.
The same report states that the entrepreneur would be willing to return to the company, but would ask for changes in the way it was run. He also expressed his gratitude for the support he had received in the wake of the case:
“Today was a strange experience in many ways. But what’s unexpected is that it’s been a bit like reading your own eulogy while you’re still alive. The outpouring of love is awe-inspiring. “
The ex-chairman of the board tells more about the unfolding of events
In the wake of Sam Altman’s ouster, the board had also parted ways with its own chairman: Greg Brockman. However, even though Brockman had been removed from his post, the board still wanted him to continue in his role, given his importance to the company, which he had refused when he left.
The interested party subsequently spoke at greater length on X, to provide some clarification, indicating that he and Sam Altman were “shocked and saddened” by the events:
Sam and I are shocked and saddened by what the board did today.
Let us first say thank you to all the incredible people who we have worked with at OpenAI, our customers, our investors, and all of those who have been reaching out.
We too are still trying to figure out exactly…
– Greg Brockman (@gdb) November 18, 2023
Thus, the ex-CEO would have received a text message from Ilya Sutskever on Thursday evening, for a meeting on Friday at noon local time. During this Google Meet, the entire board was present except for its chairman, and it was there that Sam Altam learned of his dismissal. Twenty minutes later, Ilya Sutskever also invited Greg Brockman to a call to inform him of his fate.
The management team was subsequently informed of the events just after the blog post was published, and only Mira Murati, the new interim CEO, was aware of the situation the day before.
In addition, at least 3 resignations have taken place since Friday, namely Jakub Pachocki, Director of Research, Aleksander Madry, Head of Preparation, and Szymon Sidor, Senior Researcher. In addition, Alex Cohen, who was in charge of preparing board presentations, has also been dismissed.
