The future of OpenAI appeared to be in doubt Monday, with hundreds of company employees signing a letter urging the board to resign after An agreement to reinstate fired CEO Sam Altman was not reached.
Altman, whose departure from OpenAI was announced on Friday, joined Microsoft early Monday after a weekend of Boardroom drama that sent shockwaves through Silicon Valley. As reported, Altman would make a dramatic comeback to the company he helped turn into one of the hottest startups in the world. On Monday morning, the tech giant confirmed that Altman will head a new artificial intelligence project at Microsoft.
What OpenAI employees said?
If no current board members resign, two new lead independent directors, like Bret Taylor and Will Hurd, are appointed by the board, and Sam Altman and Greg Brockman are reinstated, then OpenAI employees would resign and possibly join Microsoft.
A representative for OpenAI claims that the letter was presented to the board.
The letter’s text says, “Your actions have demonstrated that you are unable to oversee OpenAI.” We cannot collaborate with or work for people who lack judgment, skill, or concern for our workers and mission. The undersigned may decide not to continue with OpenAI and instead join the recently disclosed Microsoft subsidiary headed by Sam Altman and Greg Brockman.
More about OpenAI
OpenAI, founded in 2015 with funding from several tech billionaires, has emerged as the leader of a new wave of AI technology best known by the chatbot app ChatGPT in recent years. That app exploded in popularity almost exactly a year ago, demonstrating the enormous strides AI has made and propelling OpenAI to the top of the tech startup world.
Microsoft CEO and chairman Satya Nadella‘s announcement
More than 48 hours after the OpenAI board of directors said it no longer trusted Altman, a well-known figure in the tech industry’s efforts to address the possible advantages and risks of artificial intelligence.
Microsoft has provided billions of dollars in financial support to OpenAI since its first funding deal in 2019. Of a new breed of AI startups, OpenAI has become the most well-known since then. Its large language model chatbot, ChatGPT, is widely used and has come to symbolize AI innovation in everyday life.
Along with revealing that Altman will lead a “new advanced AI research team,” Nadella also stated that Microsoft is still dedicated to helping OpenAI, which has a new executive team. This team will also be led by Brockman, an OpenAI co-founder who was expelled from the board and resigned as president on Friday.
On Monday, Microsoft’s stock increased by over 2% to reach a new high of $378.82, as investors welcomed the announcement that Altman and Brockman would be joining the company.
Even though it had been announced earlier in the day that Sam Altman would be joining Microsoft’s artificial intelligence innovation division, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella made hints on Monday that he was still open to Altman returning to OpenAI.
Well, Nadella said, that’s a decision that has to be made by the OpenAI board, management, and employees. We specifically decided to collaborate with OpenAI, and we intend to continue doing so. That obviously depends on whether the OpenAI team decides to relocate to Microsoft or stay there.
What is the next step? Shear said,
Shear stated that in the next thirty days, he wants to accomplish three goals.
Shear stated that, in light of recent departures, he wants to continue to communicate with stakeholders and restructure the company’s management and leadership teams in addition to appointing an independent investigator to “generate a full report” about what transpired.
Following that, he stated that he “will drive changes in the organisation – up to and including pushing strongly for significant governance changes if necessary” .
OpenAI’s success and stability are too vital to let unrest like this undermine them, he stated.