If you had told me a month ago that an OpenAI soap opera-like debacle would ensue by the end of the year, I would have bet against you and be wrong. For those following the turmoil in real-time, I can report that Sam Altman announced on Wednesday that he’d be rejoining OpenAI as its CEO.
If you’re still trying to catch up or want a bite-sized version of what happened, here’s a quick recap of the major events:
- Friday, Nov. 17: OpenAI’s board fired Altman as CEO in an unexpected coup.
- Friday, Nov. 17: OpenAI CTO Mira Murati was immediately appointed interim CEO.
- Friday, Nov. 17: OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman quit as president.
- Saturday, Nov. 18: Investors, most notably Microsoft, seek to reinstate Altman.
- Sunday, Nov. 19: Altman was back at OpenAI’s HQ to discuss a potential return, but that went downhill.
- Monday, Nov. 20: Microsoft announced that it would be hiring Altman and Brockman to lead a new advanced AI research team.
- Monday, Nov. 20: OpenAI named Twitch co-founder Emmett Shear as interim CEO. Murati returned to her post as CTO.
- Monday, Nov. 20: As investors threaten to write off investments, most of OpenAI’s 700+ workforce threatens to leave and join Microsoft. As many as 710 OpenAI staffers signed a letter demanding the company board to resign and reinstate Altman and Brockman.
- Wednesday, Nov. 22: Altman and Brockman return to their posts at OpenAI as some board members exited.
Altman’s return to OpenAI comes with a new board and full support from its largest investor, Microsoft, and the Big Tech company’s CEO, Satya Nadella. As part of Altman and Brockman’s return, Helen Toner, Tasha McCauley, and OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever were removed as board members. Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers joined OpenAI’s board alongside former Salesforce co-CEO Bret Taylor, who will act as chair. Quora CEO Adam D’Angelo is the only member from OpenAI’s previous board who will continue to hold his seat.
Let’s hope this saga ends here.