OpenAI co-founders join Microsoft, face staff rebellion over decision

After a rollercoaster ride of a weekend for OpenAI, its co-founders Sam Altman and Greg Brockman have now been snapped up by Microsoft, where they will lead a “new advanced AI research team”. Hours after this was announced, though, some 500 employees from OpenAI released an open letter to their board of directors, saying they may resign and join the duo at Microsoft, if the two co-founders are not reinstated. OpenAI has more than 700 employees.

Decision sparks controversy

The ongoing saga all began on Friday evening when generative AI powerhouse OpenAI released a statement announcing the ousting of Altman, over what the board of directors said was lack of confidence in his ability to continue leading the company.

“Altman’s departure follows a deliberative review process by the board, which concluded that he was not consistently candid in his communications with the board, hindering its ability to exercise its responsibilities,” the board said. “OpenAI was deliberately structured to advance our mission: to ensure artificial general intelligence (AGI) benefits all humanity. The board remains fully committed to serving this mission.”

It expressed gratitude for Altman’s contributions to the founding and growth of OpenAI, but noted new leadership was “necessary” as the company moved forward. The board had appointed CTO Mira Murati as interim CEO, describing her as “exceptionally qualified” since she had led the company’s research, product, and safety functions.

Reactions and response

Amid speculations on what might transpire next, Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella on Monday announced he had snagged Altman and Brockman, along with “colleagues”, for “a new advanced AI research team”.

Soon after Nadella unveiled Altman was headed for Microsoft, 505 employees at OpenAI released a letter to their board of directors saying they might be heading in the same direction if Altman and Brockman were not reinstated in the company. They also asked for all members of the board to resign and two new independent directors be appointed.

Other developments

In an X post on his own appointment, Shear laid out a 30-day plan for OpenAI, which included launching an independent investigation into the “entire process leading up to this point” and producing a full report. Also on his to-do list is to “reform” the management and leadership team, amid recent departures, with the aim to drive results for clients.

In a July 2023 post, Sutskever wrote alongside machine learning researcher Jan Leike: “Superintelligence will be the most impactful technology humanity has ever invented and could help us solve many of the world’s most important problems. But the vast power of superintelligence could also be very dangerous and could lead to the disempowerment of humanity or even human extinction.”!