OpenAI says Sam Altman to return as CEO, days after sacking

Company says it will have new initial board of Bret Taylor, Larry Summers and Adam D’Angelo.

Sam Altman at the APEC CEO summit in San Francisco last week. Picture: AFP

OpenAI has reached an “agreement in principle” for Sam Altman to return to his post as chief executive officer alongside a new board, just days after his ousting, the company said on Wednesday.

In a posting on X, the tech group behind ChatGPT said former Salesforce CEO Bret Taylor will serve as chair, joined on the board by former Treasury secretary and ex-Havard president Larry Summers and Quora co-founder and CEO and current director Adam D’Angelo. “We have reached an agreement in principle for Sam to return to OpenAI as CEO with a new initial board of Bret Taylor (Chair), Larry Summers, and Adam D’Angelo,” it said in the post.

The company’s former president Greg Brockman, who had quit in the wake of Altman’s abrupt dismissal, also posted on X that he was back: “Returning to OpenAI & getting back to coding tonight.”

The latest twist comes amid news that hundreds of OpenAI staff had been threatening to leave following the drama that began on Friday, when the company ousted Altman following a power struggle with the board, sending shock waves through Silicon Valley.

On Monday, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced that Mr Altman and Mr Brockman, were joining the software giant. That’s as former Twitch head Emmett Shear tweeted that he had accepted OpenAI’s offer to become the company’s interim CEO.

“When i decided to join msft on sun evening, it was clear that was the best path for me and the team. with the new board and w satya’s support, i’m looking forward to returning to openai, and building on our strong partnership with msft,” Mr Altman said on X, which was reposted by OpenAI.

Mr Nadella said he was “encouraged by the changes to the OpenAI board. We believe this is a first essential step on a path to more stable, well-informed, and effective governance. Sam, Greg, and I have talked and agreed they have a key role to play along with the OAI leadership team in ensuring OAI continues to thrive and build on its mission,” he said in a statement on X.

The board and Mr Altman’s camp have also agreed to conduct an independent investigation into the ouster of the 38-year-old last week and its aftermath, a person familiar with the matter said. OpenAI declined to comment on the investigation.

Hundreds of staff at OpenAI threatened to quit following Altman’s dismissal. In a letter released to media, the vast majority of the company’s 770-strong staff suggested they would follow Altman unless the board responsible for his departure resigned.

Among the signatories was co-founder Ilya Sutskever, OpenAI’s chief scientist and a member of the four-person board who pushed Mr Altman out. “I deeply regret my participation in the board’s actions,” Dr Sutskever wrote on X on Monday. “I never intended to harm OpenAI.”

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