It seems that a chapter of one of the most relevant Silicon Valley soap operas of 2023 is closing, at least, for now. OpenAI confirmed Tuesday night that Sam Altman, one of its founders, is returning to the position of CEO. The announcement comes just five days after the executive, one of the most significant protagonists of the artificial intelligence boom in the United States, was fired by his board of directors and, later, signed by Microsoft, one of the company’s shareholders. company. The return of the businessman has led to the restructuring of the company’s Governing Council. Through a message on the social network Among them is Bret Taylor, one of the CEOs of Salesforce and who has experience on Twitter before the emergence of Elon Musk; the economist Larry Summers (former Secretary of the Treasury in the Clinton Administration) and Adam D’Angelo, the CEO of Quora and the only one who remained in the position after days of tension after Altman’s initial departure.
The company has admitted on social media that there is an agreement, but not everything has been said yet. “We are collaborating to clarify the details,” OpenAI wrote in its message, published around 10:00 p.m. (US West Coast time). The company had faced a lot of pressure from its investors, mainly Microsoft, which has a $13 billion stake, to bring Altman back into its ranks. The pressure didn’t just come from the world of finance. OpenAI employees and engineers signed a letter supporting the CEO following his surprise firing on Friday afternoon. The document, signed by 770 workers, demanded Altman’s return to the company’s board.
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
The message published by OpenAI has been interpreted as a white flag after days of conflict in the technological cradle of the United States. Many of those affected, including Greg Brockman, the company’s former president, and chief technology officer Mira Murati, have congratulated the company for reversing the decision made last week. Brockman had resigned on Friday after the board demoted him to a non-management position and the news rocked Silicon Valley. This Tuesday he also announced his return to the company located in San Francisco.
Altman, for his part, has reported on social media that he is looking forward to returning. “I love OpenAI and everything I have done in the last few days has been to keep the team and its mission together,” he said in his message. “When I decided to join Microsoft on Sunday, it was clear that it was the best path for me and the team,” he said. Things have changed. Altman assures that he wants to continue working with “the support of Satya [Nadella, consejero delegado de Microsoft]” to continue strengthening its association with technology.
The Microsoft executive has been one of those who has worked the most behind the scenes to get Altman to return to OpenAI. “We are very encouraged by the changes to the company’s board,” Nadella wrote in X on Tuesday night. In her opinion, the arrival of Taylor and Summers is an essential first step towards a “more stable, effective and better informed” government.
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 it 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
The company had named Emmett Shear as CEO on Monday, replacing Altman. The profile of the new executive was very different from that of the founder of OpenAI, since he was an apocalyptic, the group of experts who believe that the unsupervised development of artificial intelligence can even lead to the end of humanity. Shear, 40, had made his career primarily on Twitch, the social video network. However, he assures that Altman’s return to the company he founded has not been bad news for him. “I am deeply pleased with this result after 72 intense hours of work,” Shear said on social mediawho has been considered part of the solution.
Altman was fired on Friday by surprise as a director of the company for “loss of trust.” However, the chaos unleashed in the company, with many employees and investors demanding the return of the founder, shook the board that had decided on the dismissal. Finally, Altman has been able to defeat the advisors and returns reinforced to his position. He has even managed to change the composition of the board that fired him.
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