Sam Altman returning as OpenAI CEO amid board shakeup

In a twist to the AI saga that began last week, Sam Altman will return as CEO of OpenAI, the same company whose board fired him just five days ago. The latest shakeup at ChatGPT’s parent company also includes former salesforce co-CEO Bret Taylor and former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers joining the board.

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Hours after Altman was ousted from the company he co-founded last Friday, he signed on to lead a new advanced AI research team with Microsoft, which is the largest investor of OpenAI.

On Monday, Nov. 20, hundreds of OpenAI employees, including one of its co-founders, signed a letter that said if the board did not resign and bring Altman back to the company, they would jump ship to Microsoft as well.

Early Wednesday morning, OpenAI announced on “X” that it had reached “an agreement in principle” for Altman to return with a new, initial board, made up of Taylor as chair, Summers, and Adam D’Angelo, who is a chief executive and board member at Quora.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said the return of Altman and co-founder Greg Brockman to OpenAI will ensure the AI startup will continue to “thrive and build on its mission.”

“We are 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,” Nadella wrote on “X.”

Altman took to “X” overnight and posted, “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…with the new board and with Satya’s support, I’m looking forward to returning to OpenAI, and building on our strong partnership with Microsoft.”