Sam Altman has been terminated from his position at OpenAI, Inc., the 501(c)(3) nonprofit that oversees OpenAI, the innovative AI startup behind ChatGPT, DALL-E 3, GPT-4, and other advanced generative AI technologies. Altman will exit the company’s board of directors and resign as CEO.
In an announcement on OpenAI's official blog, the board stated that Altman's ousting followed a “deliberative review process,” concluding that he “wasn’t consistently candid in his communications” with board members, which impeded their ability to fulfill their duties.
"The board no longer has confidence in [Altman’s] ability to lead OpenAI effectively," the blog post noted.
On X (formerly Twitter), Altman expressed his fondness for his time at OpenAI and mentioned that he would share details about his future plans soon.
This significant leadership shift will see Greg Brockman—one of OpenAI’s co-founders—step down as chairman while retaining his role as president. He will report to the newly appointed interim CEO, Mira Murati, who previously served as OpenAI’s CTO. OpenAI has also announced that it will immediately begin the search for a permanent CEO.
“OpenAI’s structure has always been designed to advance our mission: to ensure that artificial general intelligence benefits everyone,” the board stated. “We are immensely grateful for Sam’s many contributions while also recognizing that new leadership is essential for our future. Mira is exceptionally well-qualified to lead OpenAI during this interim period, and we have complete confidence in her capabilities.”
OpenAI's board of directors now includes chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, Quora CEO Adam D’Angelo, tech entrepreneur Tasha McCauley, and Helen Toner, director of strategy at Georgetown’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology.
Altman’s dismissal came as a surprise, especially following the successful OpenAI DevDay developer conference he hosted just last week. He had also participated in recent high-profile events, including the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference. Reports from The Verge and The New York Times indicate that OpenAI employees were informed of Altman's firing only after the public announcement.
Altman has an extensive history with OpenAI. After co-founding the organization with notable figures like Peter Thiel and Reid Hoffman, he initially served as co-chair alongside Elon Musk, who departed in 2018 due to a conflict of interest with Tesla.
In recent months, Altman has been actively engaging with regulators and world leaders to shape AI policy, appearing at U.S. congressional hearings and meeting with officials, including President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
The exact reasons for Altman's firing remain unclear but seem linked to his interaction with OpenAI’s unique board structure and governance model, potentially tied to the company’s ongoing efforts to secure substantial funding.
OpenAI's for-profit subsidiary, OpenAI Global, LLC, is entirely controlled by the nonprofit entity. While the for-profit branch can commercialize its technology, it is bound by the nonprofit's mission to attain artificial general intelligence (AGI), defined as AI that can "outperform humans at most economically valuable work." The nonprofit’s board holds the authority to determine when AGI is achieved and can control licensing agreements, including those with Microsoft, one of OpenAI’s largest investors.
Microsoft has invested $13 billion in OpenAI, acquiring approximately a 49% stake in the company. Following the announcement of Altman’s departure, Microsoft’s stock price dropped by over 1% in the last half hour of trading. Axios reported that Microsoft learned of Altman's exit just “minutes” before the public release.
Founded in 2015 as a nonprofit, OpenAI transitioned to a “capped-profit” model in 2019 to attract investment, reflecting the high costs associated with developing cutting-edge AI. In a recent Financial Times interview, Altman expressed hopes that Microsoft would increase its funding to cover “huge” anticipated training expenses.
When contacted, OpenAI’s press relations team declined to comment beyond the official blog post, while Microsoft’s chief communications officer, Frank Shaw, stated that “Microsoft remains committed to Mira and their team as we usher in the next era of AI.”
Satya Nadella later emphasized: "At Microsoft Ignite this week, we exhibited continuous innovation in AI, with over 100 announcements covering AI systems, models, and tools. We are dedicated to delivering meaningful benefits from this technology to our customers and maintaining our strong partnership with OpenAI and Mira's team."
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