Sam Altman to Return as OpenAI CEO Following In-Principle Agreement

OpenAI co-founder Sam Altman is set to return as the chief executive officer of the artificial intelligence upstart nearly a week after he was ousted from the company’s board, prompting backlash from employees and key stakeholders.

“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,” OpenAI said in an X post on Wednesday morning.

“I’m looking forward to returning to openai, and building on our strong partnership with msft (Microsoft),” Altman said in a post early Wednesday,” Altman said in a post early Wednesday.

Altman was forced out of his role last weekend because he “was not consistently candid in his communications” with the board. A leaked memo was not specific about why Altman was forced to depart from the company, with said the firing “was not made in response to malfeasance or anything related to our financial, business, safety, or security/privacy practices.”

But OpenAI’s loss was someone else’s gain. Earlier this week, reports emerged that Altman, Greg Brockman, the company’s co-founder and president, and other former staff members would be joining software giant Microsoft, one of the key investors in the AI startup.

OpenAI’s major investors, led by Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, reportedly pushed to reinstate Altman as CEO and replace the current board, following the unexpected firing, with intense negotiations involved in the process.

Altman’s departure even sparked criticism from hundreds of OpenAI employees – even prompting a note to the board that would leave the company to join Altman unless the board formally resigned.

UPDATE (Nov. 21, 2023, 6:33 UTC): Adds additional details throughout.