Sam Altman is Returning to OpenAI as CEO With New Board Members

After what looks like to have been a very intensive day of negotiations, it looks like the Sam Altman/OpenAI saga is about to reach a conclusion. OpenAI has now announced that Altman is set to return to the company as a CEO with some important changes 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,” the company posted on X.

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

For those unfamiliar, Bret Taylor, the new chairman of OpenAI, is the former CTO of Facebook and co-CEO of Salesforce. Larry Summers is a former US Secretary of the Treasury, while Adam D’Angelo, who was already on the OpenAI board, is the co-founder and CEO of Quora.

This announcement comes five days after Altman was ousted from the company for reasons that are still unclear. On Monday, Microsoft then announced that it had hired Altman and OpenAI President Greg Brockman to lead a new AI research division, but OpenAI has been pressured to negotiate with Altman after most of the company’s employees threatened to quit and follow him at Microsoft.

“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 was the best path for me and the team. with the new board and w satya’s support, i’m looking forward to returning to openai, and building on our strong partnership with msft,” Sam Altman wrote in his typical all lowercase style.

Even though Altman won’t be joining Microsoft after all, CEO Satya Nadella appears to be pleased by the conclusion of this saga. “We are encouraged by the changes to the OpenAI board. We believe this is a first essential step on a path to more stable, well-informed, and effective governance. Sam, Greg, and I have talked and agreed they have a key role to play along with the OAI leadership team in ensuring OAI continues to thrive and build on its mission,” the exec posted on X.

We are encouraged by the changes to the OpenAI board. We believe this is a first essential step on a path to more stable, well-informed, and effective governance. Sam, Greg, and I have talked and agreed they have a key role to play along with the OAI leadership team in ensuring… https://t.co/djO6Fuz6t9

— Satya Nadella (@satyanadella) November 22, 2023

Emmett Shear, the interim CEO of OpenAI and former CEO of Twitch said that he was “very pleased” by the results of these negotiations. “Coming into OpenAI, I wasn’t sure what the right path would be. This was the pathway that maximized safety alongside doing right by all stakeholders involved,” the exec wrote. It’s not clear yet if he will still have a role at OpenAI following this leadership transition.