Report: Sam Altman is Negotiating a Comeback With OpenAI’s Board

After Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced yesterday that Sam Altman, the former CEO of OpenAI was joining Microsoft to lead a new AI research group, this saga is apparently far from over. As it turns out, Altman hasn’t joined Microsoft yet, and Bloomberg is reporting that the former OpenAI CEO is currently in negotiations with the company’s board to make a comeback.

As of today, over 700 OpenAI employees have signed a letter threatening to quit the company and follow Atman at Microsoft if the board refuses to resign and re-appoint Altman as CEO of the company. As a matter of fact, no one really knows why Altman was fired in the first place: The leadership transition that was announced on Friday only included a vague statement about Altman being “not consistently candid in his communications with the board, hindering its ability to exercise its responsibilities.”

Anyway, Altman, who now has the support of over 90% of OpenAI employees, is currently in a position of power. Bloomberg reports that he’s currently discussing with “at least one board member, Adam D’Angelo,” with some of OpenAI’s investors also being part of the discussions.

“In one scenario being discussed, Altman would return as a director on a transitional board, one of the people said. Former Salesforce Inc. co-CEO Bret Taylor could also serve as a director on a new board, multiple people said,” the report reads.

On Monday, OpenAI appointed Emmett Shear, the co-founder of Twitch as its new interim CEO, and the exec is currently in a very uncomfortable position. According to Bloomberg’s sources, Shear hasn’t been told why the board decided to fire Altman, and the exec reportedly told people close to OpenAI that he won’t be staying if the board is unable to come forward with a clear explanation.

So yes, the situation is really messy, but Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella doesn’t seem too worried about the possible outcomes. In an interview with journalist Kara Swisher published today, Nadella said “We will be supportive of whoever remains even at OpenAI or whatever. At the end of the day, I’m doing things that are meaningful for my customers and I’m going to continue to partner with OpenAI, and I’ll continue to make sure that Sam and his team are supported.”