Resignation,
job offers from Microsoft, and ultimately a return to the CEO chair, all within
just a few dozen hours. Sam Altman, the Co-Founder of OpenAI, has undoubtedly
been on an emotional rollercoaster, and the artificial intelligence (AI )
industry has seen the drama that Silicon Valley and the entire Internet have
been closely following.
Sam Altman Back as
OpenAI’s CEO
After three
days, Altman returned to the position of OpenAI’s CEO, the creator of the
record-breaking artificial intelligence tool ChatGPT. The company is creating
an initial board and intends to “figure out the details” shortly. It
will be headed by Bret Taylor, who was Twitter’s director before Elon Musk took
over.
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
Last
Friday, OpenAI announced that it had decided to fire Altman, explaining this
with a lack of confidence in his further actions. Altman helped found the
company in 2015 and has held the role of its CEO since 2019. Mira Murati, who
was responsible for research at the company, was appointed interim CEO.
From Unemployment, through
Microsoft and Back to OpenAI
However,
Altman did not spend much time unemployed, as on Sunday, there was information
that Microsoft had offered him a position. Together with him, Greg Brockman,
OpenAI’s former Chairman, and a team of “colleagues” who allegedly
left OpenAI with Altman, were also offered jobs. Behind the scenes, it was said
that most of the company’s employees stood behind their CEO and threatened mass
resignations.
Microsoft’s
involvement, the media turmoil, and the chaos caused by the CEO’s dismissal led
to several days of intense negotiations. As a result, Altman was reinstated,
and the company is now trying to form a new board.
i love openai, and everything i’ve done over the past few days has been in service of keeping this team and its mission together. 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…
— Sam Altman (@sama) November 22, 2023
For Silicon
Valley, however, CEO departures and returns are nothing new. However, Apple Co-Founder
Steve Jobs needed ten years to return, and Twitter Co-Founder Jack Dorsey
needed seven years. For Altman, it only took a few days. Everything, including
dramas, seems to be happening much faster in the AI revolution era.
OpenAI Could Be Worth
Almost $90 Billion
At the end
of October, Finance Magnates reported that OpenAI is negotiating a
tender offer, allowing current employees to sell their shares and value the
company at $86 billion. Specifically, according to people familiar with the
matter, OpenAI is in talks with potential investors to sell existing employees’
shares through a tender offer that would value the company at $86 billion.
Also, OpenAI is
entering the hardware arena to develop custom AI chips, driven by the growing
demand for specialized hardware tailored to AI workloads. Traditional
processors like CPUs and GPUs are limited in handling complex AI tasks. Custom
hardware like ASICs and FPGAs offers higher performance and energy efficiency.
Resignation,
job offers from Microsoft, and ultimately a return to the CEO chair, all within
just a few dozen hours. Sam Altman, the Co-Founder of OpenAI, has undoubtedly
been on an emotional rollercoaster, and the artificial intelligence (AI )
industry has seen the drama that Silicon Valley and the entire Internet have
been closely following.
Sam Altman Back as
OpenAI’s CEO
After three
days, Altman returned to the position of OpenAI’s CEO, the creator of the
record-breaking artificial intelligence tool ChatGPT. The company is creating
an initial board and intends to “figure out the details” shortly. It
will be headed by Bret Taylor, who was Twitter’s director before Elon Musk took
over.
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
Last
Friday, OpenAI announced that it had decided to fire Altman, explaining this
with a lack of confidence in his further actions. Altman helped found the
company in 2015 and has held the role of its CEO since 2019. Mira Murati, who
was responsible for research at the company, was appointed interim CEO.
From Unemployment, through
Microsoft and Back to OpenAI
However,
Altman did not spend much time unemployed, as on Sunday, there was information
that Microsoft had offered him a position. Together with him, Greg Brockman,
OpenAI’s former Chairman, and a team of “colleagues” who allegedly
left OpenAI with Altman, were also offered jobs. Behind the scenes, it was said
that most of the company’s employees stood behind their CEO and threatened mass
resignations.
Microsoft’s
involvement, the media turmoil, and the chaos caused by the CEO’s dismissal led
to several days of intense negotiations. As a result, Altman was reinstated,
and the company is now trying to form a new board.
i love openai, and everything i’ve done over the past few days has been in service of keeping this team and its mission together. 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…
— Sam Altman (@sama) November 22, 2023
For Silicon
Valley, however, CEO departures and returns are nothing new. However, Apple Co-Founder
Steve Jobs needed ten years to return, and Twitter Co-Founder Jack Dorsey
needed seven years. For Altman, it only took a few days. Everything, including
dramas, seems to be happening much faster in the AI revolution era.
OpenAI Could Be Worth
Almost $90 Billion
At the end
of October, Finance Magnates reported that OpenAI is negotiating a
tender offer, allowing current employees to sell their shares and value the
company at $86 billion. Specifically, according to people familiar with the
matter, OpenAI is in talks with potential investors to sell existing employees’
shares through a tender offer that would value the company at $86 billion.
Also, OpenAI is
entering the hardware arena to develop custom AI chips, driven by the growing
demand for specialized hardware tailored to AI workloads. Traditional
processors like CPUs and GPUs are limited in handling complex AI tasks. Custom
hardware like ASICs and FPGAs offers higher performance and energy efficiency.
