Sam Altman and Adam D’Angelo Reunite for Thanksgiving Amid OpenAI Boardroom Turmoil

Just days after the turmoil surrounding his firing and subsequent reinstatement as CEO of OpenAI, Sam Altman enjoyed a few hours of Thanksgiving with his longtime friend and OpenAI board member, Adam D’Angelo.

Altman shared their time together on Twitter, expressing that he had a “really nice few hours” with D’Angelo and extending warm Thanksgiving wishes from their families.

This tweet surprised many in the tech community, prompting questions about how the two could mend their relationship after a public fallout just a week earlier. Altman was ousted from his CEO position at OpenAI, a leading artificial intelligence research lab, amid accusations from the board of lying and undermining governance. Remarkably, he was reinstated just five days later.

D’Angelo was among the board members who raised concerns about Altman's vision and leadership, particularly following the launch of ChatGPT, the popular chatbot that sparked significant ethical and safety discussions.

While the specifics of Altman and D’Angelo's past are not widely known, they both rose to prominence during the early days of Silicon Valley. D’Angelo served as Facebook's CTO, and Altman founded Loopt, which was nearly acquired by Facebook. Both have played key roles at OpenAI, with Altman as CEO and D’Angelo as a board member.

However, their relationship has reportedly soured over the years due to disagreements about OpenAI's governance and strategic direction. The company was originally founded as a nonprofit research lab with the mission of aligning AI development with human values for the benefit of all.

Their Thanksgiving gathering indicates that Altman and D’Angelo are at least attempting to move beyond the boardroom drama and rebuild their friendship. Now that Altman is back as CEO, he and D’Angelo must collaborate to shape OpenAI's future in the rapidly evolving AI landscape.

This holiday reunion serves as a signal to turn the page on OpenAI’s leadership saga, as both leaders look to guide the company forward.