When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Heres how it works.
The saga ends with one of the biggest names in tech returning to OpenAI as CEO.
On top of Altman returning to OpenAI, the company has a new board.
The old boardunexpectedly forced Altman outearlier this month and most of those members have been replaced.
Perhaps most notably, Microsoft now has a non-voting seat on the board.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella was reportedlyfurious when blindsided by Altman’s firing.
Microsoft having a seat on the OpenAI board, even a non-voting seat, should prevent future surprises.
OpenAI has a unique organization setup that has a nonprofit board oversees a for-profit arm.
Microsoft now has a non-voting seat on that nonprofit board.
Microsoft also holds a 49 percent stake in the for-profit arm of OpenAI.
Microsoft has not shared a comment on today’s news at the time of publication.
That board now consists of Bret Taylor, Larry Summers, and Adam D’Angelo with Taylor acting as chair.
D’Angelo is the only holdover from the previous OpenAI board.
The Vergeobtained Altman’s full memo to OpenAI employees on Wednesday, November 29, 2023.
Mira will return to her role as CTO.
The new initial board will consist of Bret Taylor (Chair), Larry Summers, and Adam DAngelo.
I have never been more excited about the future.
I feel so, so good about our probability of success for achieving our mission.
Before getting to what comes next, Id like to share some thanks.
I harbor zero ill will towards him.
Thank you also to Emmett who had a key and constructive role in helping us reach this outcome.
Emmetts dedication to AI safety and balancing stakeholders interests was clear.
She is an incredible leader and OpenAI would not be OpenAI without her.
Greg and I are partners in running this company.
We have never quite figured out how to communicate that on the org chart, but we will.
In the meantime, I just wanted to make it clear.
Now that were through all of this, we didnt lose a single employee.
You stood firm for each other, this company, and our mission.
Theyve had our backs and were ready to welcome all of us if we couldnt achieve our primary goal.
To our partners and users, thank you for sticking with us.
We really felt the outpouring of support and love, and it helped all of us get through this.
I dont know how they did it so well, but they really did.
Thank you and I love you.
We have three immediate priorities.
Our research roadmap is clear; this was a wonderfully focusing time.
I share the excitement you all feel; we will turn this crisis into an opportunity!
Ill work with Mira on this.
Continuing to improve and deploy our products and serve our customers.
We continue to believe that great products are the best way to do this.
We are thrilled that Sam, Mira and Greg are back together leading the company and driving it forward.
We look forward to working with them and all of you.
As a Board, we are focused on strengthening OpenAIs corporate governance.
We are pleased that this Board will include a non-voting observer for Microsoft.
We will further stabilize the OpenAI organization so that we can continue to serve our mission.
This will include convening an independent committee of the Board to oversee a review of the recent events.
OpenAI is a more important institution than ever before.
ChatGPT has made artificial intelligence a part of daily life for hundreds of millions of people.
Each of you plays a critical part in ensuring that we effectively meet these challenges.
We are grateful to be a part of OpenAI, and excited to work with all of you.
Thank you,
Bret Taylor Chair, OpenAI
