Satya Nadella’s Loss, Sam Altman’s Gain: OpenAI Welcomes Back its CEO!

The OpenAI saga is reaching its conclusion with a surprising twist: Sam Altman is set to return as the CEO, accompanied by a new board. This means that Altman will not be joining Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella to lead their AI research team, as previously announced. The decision comes after reports of widespread resignations within the company, with approximately 500 employees demanding Altman’s reinstatement. As a result, interim CEO Emmett Shear’s tenure will come to an end. It remains uncertain whether Greg Brockman will also rejoin OpenAI alongside the CEO.

OpenAI posted on X: “We have reached an agreement in principle that Sam Altman will return as CEO of OpenAI with a new original board of directors including Bret Taylor (chairman), Larry Summers and Adam D’Angelo. We are working together to work out the details. Thank you very much for your patience on this matter .” Altman reacted to the message with greeting emojis and heart emojis.

Altman also released X, saying, “I love openai and everything I’ve done in the past few days has served to keep this team and its mission together. When I decided to join msft on Sun night, it was clear that it was the best path for me and the team, with the support of the new board and w satya I look forward to returning to openai and building on our strong partnership with msft”.

Sam Altman returns as CEO of OpenAI

It was reported that Altman was already asked to join the company on Sunday, but he set the condition that non-board members be fired first.

While Quora’s D’Angelo will retain his seat, other board members Tasha McCauley, Helen Toner and OpenAI’s chief scientist Ilya Sutskever appear to have been fired. In their role, Salesforce CEO Bret Taylor has been appointed chairman of the board alongside former US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers. Further changes are possible as the notice highlights that it is likely to be the original board.

In his own announcement, Altman revealed that he decided to join Microsoft, but that OpenAI, which agreed to remove the current board members, changed his mind. In addition, Altman also clarified that Nadella supports his decision.