Sam Altman rejoins OpenAI as CEO

Following Sam Altman's dismissal last week from ChatGPT creator OpenAI, the company seems to have finally reached an agreement. Altman is set to return as CEO at OpenAI, as confirmed by the platform on X. 

We have reached an agreement in principle for Sam Altman to return to OpenAI as CEO with a new initial board of Bret Taylor (Chair), Larry Summers, and Adam D'Angelo.

We are collaborating to figure out the details. Thank you so much for your patience through this.

— OpenAI (@OpenAI) November 22, 2023

The startup is reforming its board, eliminating several members who faced intense scrutiny for their decision last week. Bret Taylor, Former CEO of Salesforce will serve as the chair, alongside former US Secretary of the Treasury Larry Summers and Quora founder Adam D’Angelo.

Altman's sudden termination was attributed to him not being 'consistently candid in his communications'. Following this, Altman expressed his intent to join a newly established AI research team at Microsoft, alongside former OpenAI president Greg Brockman and other ex-OpenAI researchers. Microsoft owns about 49% of OpenAI, and CEO Satya Nadella indicated that Altman might return to the AI startup in 'some capacity'. 

The three-person board that decided to remove Altman included its chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, independent directors D’Angelo, technology entrepreneur Tasha McCauley, and Georgetown Center for Security and Emerging Technology’s Helen Toner. They have faced intense public scrutiny for their abrupt decision, for which they never offered a comprehensive explanation as the move has been opposed by an open letter signed by employees urging the board to get Altman back. The open letter was signed and supported by almost the entire company.