OpenAI investors push for Sam Altman’s return as CEO: Report

According to sources familiar with the matter, key investors at OpenAI disagreed with the board’s decision to terminate CEO Sam Altman and are advocating for his reinstatement.

The board of directors at OpenAI is reportedly receiving criticism from investors over the decision to terminate its CEO Sam Altman.

According to a November 19 Bloomberg report, citing people familiar with the matter, several investors of OpenAI – the artificial intelligence (AI) company behind chatGPT – are reportedly in contact with its largest shareholder, Microsoft, in an effort to reinstate Altman as CEO.

On November 17, OpenAI announced the removal of Altman as CEO, with its chief technology officer Mira Murati stepping into the CEO position. 

In a blog post, the board claimed that Altman’s communication lacked clarity and honesty, making it challenging to obtain a comprehensive understanding of the operations.

Thrive Capital, anticipated to spearhead a tender offer for employee shares, has reportedly not sent the funds yet, and Altman’s departure is poised to impact its course of action. 

Reportedly, Thrive wants the board to re-engage both Altman and Greg Brockman, its president, who departed on Friday shortly after Altman was removed from the company.

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

Brockman announced his departure after it was revealed that Altman had been dropped by the board.

“Based on today’s news, I quit,” Brockman declared in a post on X.

Following the news, three OpenAI senior researchers, including Jakub Pachocki, director of research, Aleksander Madry, head of preparedness, and Szymon Sidor, senior researcher, also departed.

Related: OpenAI halts new ChatGPT Plus sign-ups amid high demand

Meanwhile, reports indicate that Altman is willing to return to the company, contingent upon the current board stepping down by the end of the weekend.

Furthermore, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella reportedly expressed his support for any decision Altman makes, given that the board’s decision was also a surprise to him.

However, recent reports since Altman’s dismissal on Friday state that he is developing a new AI venture set to launch, as per familiar sources. Furthermore, there were reports indicating that Brockman would be joining Altman in this venture.

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