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☆ Sam Altman returns to OpenAI’s board of directors, fully reversing the ChatGPT company’s wild shakeup
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-08 | by ( David Goldman | Poppy Harlow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Altman’s return comes after an independent investigation found the board did not need to fire him in the first place. Altman in November was fired as CEO and director by the OpenAI board in a shocking dismissal of an executive who had become the face of AI in Silicon Valley. “I am excited to welcome Sue, Nicole, and Fidji to the OpenAI Board of Directors,” Taylor said in a statement. But Altman, Brockman and Sutskever in 2019 formed OpenAI LP, a for-profit entity that exists within the larger company’s structure. Altman, in the press conference, praised the company’s employees for their determination to do good work throughout its turmoil.

Persons: Sam Altman, Altman’s, Altman, OpenAI, – Altman, Larry Summers, Obama, Bret Taylor, Adam D’Angelo, Sue Desmond, Hellman, Nicole Seligman, Fidji Simo, “, Sue, Nicole, ” Taylor, WilmerHale, –, Mira Murati, Ilya Sutskever, Murati, “ Mira …, ”, ” Murati, Greg Brockman, Sam, Greg, Taylor, Brockman, Elon Musk, shakeup, …, ” Altman Organizations: New, New York CNN, Microsoft, Clinton, Gates, Sony, OpenAI, New York Times Locations: New York, Silicon Valley, Sutskever

OpenAI is reinstating CEO Sam Altman to its board of directors and said it has “full confidence” in his leadership after the conclusion of an outside investigation into the company's turmoil. After months of investigation, it found that Altman's ouster was a “consequence of a breakdown in the relationship and loss of trust” between him and the prior board, OpenAI said in a summary of the findings Friday. The investigation found the prior board acted within its discretion. “The review concluded there was a significant breakdown in trust between the prior board, and Sam and Greg,” Bret Taylor, the board’s chair, told reporters Friday. After it retained the law firm in December, OpenAI said WilmerHale conducted dozens of interviews with the company’s prior board, current executives, advisers and other witnesses.

Persons: Sam Altman, Altman, OpenAI, Sue Desmond, Hellman, Melinda Gates, Nicole Seligman, Fidji Simo, “ I’m, ” Altman, he’s, ”, Helen Toner, Tasha McCauley, “, Greg Brockman, ” OpenAI, Brockman, Greg, ” Bret Taylor, Taylor, Microsoft —, Toner, McCauley, Ilya Sutskever, Sutskever, Ilya, Elon Musk, Larry Summers, Adam D’Angelo, WilmerHale, WilmerHale didn't, Musk, ” Taylor Organizations: Sony, San, OpenAI, Microsoft, Georgetown University, RAND Corporation, Facebook, Elon, U.S ., Associated Press Locations: San Francisco, U.S

☆ OpenAI officially announces Sam Altman has returned as CEO and Microsoft gains a non-voting board seat
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( David Goldman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —Twelve days after OpenAI fired Sam Altman as CEO, the company formally announced that it has hired him back. OpenAI called the new board “initial,” signaling that it will add more directors in the future. Altman, in a company blog post, thanked the previous board that fired him for their contributions to the company. In a post on X, Altman acknowledged “real misunderstandings” between him and members of the board. “For my part, it is incredibly important to learn from this experience and apply those learnings as we move forward as a company,” Altman wrote on X.

Persons: OpenAI, Sam Altman, Bret Taylor, Larry Summers, Adam D’Angelo, Altman, Greg Brockman, Satya Nadella, Mira Murati, Murati, Twitch, Emmett Shear, —, Brockman, Ilya Sutskever, Sustkever, Ilya, ” Altman, OpenAI didn’t, “, ” Organizations: New, New York CNN, Microsoft Locations: New York, OpenAI

☆ Larry Summers Is OpenAI’s Surprise Pick to Mend Fences
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( Newley Purnell | Keach Hagey | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

OpenAI said late Tuesday that Sam Altman will return to the artificial-intelligence company as CEO, with a new initial board. WSJ reporter Tom Dotan analyzes the latest developments. Photo: John G Mabanglo/ShutterstockAs Sam Altman looks to steer OpenAI following the turmoil of his ouster and return as chief executive, he will be working with an initial board of directors consisting of two new faces—and one holdover from the previous board that fired him. The two joiners are seasoned tech veteran Bret Taylor , who was formerly co-CEO of Salesforce and chairman of Twitter, and Larry Summers , the onetime Treasury secretary and Harvard University president whose appointment surprised some observers. Remaining on the board is Adam D’Angelo , a former Facebook executive and the founder of the question-and-answer website Quora, a potential sign that Altman may not have everything his own way after his dramatic reinstatement late Tuesday.

Persons: OpenAI, Sam Altman, Tom Dotan, John G Mabanglo, Bret Taylor, Larry Summers, Adam D’Angelo, Altman Organizations: Twitter, Harvard University, Facebook

☆ OpenAI Says Sam Altman to Return as CEO
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( Deepa Seetharaman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Sam Altman is returning to OpenAI as CEO. Photo: john g mabanglo/ShutterstockOpenAI said Sam Altman will return as chief executive of the artificial-intelligence startup that he co-founded, days after he was fired by the board. The company will have a new initial board including Bret Taylor, Larry Summers and Adam D’Angelo . The startup said Taylor will be chairman of the board in a post on X late Tuesday.

Persons: Sam Altman, Shutterstock OpenAI, Bret Taylor, Larry Summers, Adam D’Angelo, Taylor

Sam Altman was reinstated late Tuesday as OpenAI’s chief executive, the company said, successfully reversing his ouster by the company’s board last week after a campaign waged by his allies, employees and investors. The board of directors will be overhauled, jettisoning several members who had opposed Mr. Altman. Adam D’Angelo, the chief executive of Quora, will be the only holdover. “We have reached an agreement in principle for Sam to return to OpenAI as CEO with a new initial board of Bret Taylor (Chair), Larry Summers, and Adam D’Angelo,” OpenAI said in a post to X. “We are collaborating to figure out the details.

Persons: Sam Altman, Altman, Adam D’Angelo, Sam, Bret Taylor, Larry Summers, ” OpenAI, Greg Brockman, upended Organizations: Quora

Overnight, OpenAI announced that it had an “agreement in principle” to reinstall Sam Altman as C.E.O., while the board members who pushed him out are departing. The news was greeted rapturously by the ChatGPT creator’s employees, most of whom had threatened to quit and join Altman at Microsoft. Altman and those focused more on commercializing the technology came out ahead of those worried about its apocalyptic potential. Gone are Tasha McCauley, Helen Toner and Ilya Sutskever, three of the four directors who ousted Altman. That board will help select a bigger permanent one, according to The Verge, which may include representation for Microsoft, OpenAI’s biggest investor.

Persons: OpenAI, Sam Altman, Altman, Tasha McCauley, Helen Toner, Ilya Sutskever, Bret Taylor, Larry Summers, Adam D’Angelo, Satya Nadella, Microsoft’s, ” Organizations: Microsoft, Treasury Locations: Silicon

☆ Economist Larry Summers joins the board of OpenAI as ousted CEO Sam Altman returns
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( Luciana Lopez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —Economist Larry Summers, the former Obama and Clinton official, is joining an initial, revamped OpenAI board, as the company welcomes back CEO Sam Altman just days after he was ousted by the previous board. Summers and Taylor, for example, both sit on other corporate boards. Those three directors have significantly more experience than much of the previous board, which abruptly fired Altman late on Friday only to see an employee revolt and wide-ranging repercussions in the tech and business worlds. Days later, OpenAI said it had reached an agreement in principle for Altman to return. “We are collaborating to figure out the details,” the company posted on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

Persons: Larry Summers, Obama, Sam Altman, Clinton, Summers —, Bret Taylor, Adam D’Angelo —, Summers, Taylor, Altman, OpenAI, meany, ” Organizations: CNN, Clinton

The ousted leader of ChatGPT-maker OpenAI is returning to the company that fired him late last week, the latest in a saga that has shocked the artificial intelligence industry. San Francisco-based OpenAI said in a statement late Tuesday: “We have reached an agreement in principle for Sam Altman to return to OpenAI as CEO with a new initial board" made of former Salesforce co-CEO Bret Taylor, former U.S. Treasury Secretary Larry Summers and Quora CEO Adam D’Angelo. That emboldened a threatened exodus of nearly all of the startup's 770 employees who signed a letter calling for the board's resignation and Altman's return. “We are encouraged by the changes to the OpenAI board,” Nadella posted on X late Tuesday. How many 16-inch pizzas should I order for 778 people,” the person asks, using the number of people who work at OpenAI.

Persons: OpenAI, “, Sam Altman, Bret Taylor, Larry Summers, Adam D’Angelo, D'Angelo, Altman, Greg Brockman, Altman's, Kevin Scott, Satya Nadella, ” Nadella, It's, Nadella, Brockman, ” Brockman, “ It’s, Emmett Shear, ”, ” Shear Organizations: U.S ., Microsoft Locations: San Francisco, OpenAI

☆ Sam Altman returns to OpenAI in a bizarre reversal of fortunes
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( Clare Duffy | David Goldman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

In its announcement of Altman’s firing, OpenAI claimed that Altman had been insufficiently “candid” with the board. But then hundreds of OpenAI employees, nearly the company’s entire staff, threatened to leave, potentially for Microsoft, if the company’s board didn’t resign and reinstate Altman as CEO. It’s unclear how Shear will be affected by Altman’s return. “We are encouraged by the changes to the OpenAI board,” Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said on X. Publicly, Altman has long cautioned about risks posed by AI, and he has pledged to lawmakers and customers that he would move OpenAI forward responsibly.

Persons: Sam Altman, Bret Taylor, Adam D’Angelo, Larry Summers, “, Altman, Steve Jobs, OpenAI, Kara Swisher, Nadella, Greg Brockman, Altman’s, —, Emmett Shear, didn’t, Shear, …, ” Brockman, Satya Nadella, Jony, CNN’s Juliana Liu, Diksha Madhok Organizations: New, New York CNN, Twitter, Microsoft, CNN, Twitch Locations: New York, OpenAI, Silicon

BANGKOK (AP) — Shares slipped in Asia on Wednesday, tracking a decline on Wall Street a day after stocks there hit their highest level since the start of August. Troubled property developer Sunac China Holding's shares rose 2.3% as state media reported it had completed a restructuring of its $90 billion in debts. Retailers were mixed after several reported their earnings for the latest quarter and, more importantly, their forecasts for the upcoming holiday shopping season. Lowe’s sank 3.1% despite reporting better profit for the latest quarter. Best Buy dipped 0.7% after likewise beating analysts’ expectations for profit in the latest quarter but falling short on revenue and cutting its forecast for the full year.

Persons: OpenAI's, Sam Altman, Altman, Satya Nadella, OpenAI, “, ”, Bret Taylor, Larry Summers, Adam D’Angelo, Australia's, Stocks, Brent Organizations: Microsoft, U.S ., Federal Reserve, University of Michigan, Nikkei, China, Dow Jones, Nasdaq, Lowe’s, Dick’s, Goods, Federal, Deutsche Bank, Fed, Treasury, New York Mercantile Exchange, U.S Locations: BANGKOK, Asia, Tokyo, Mumbai, U.S, Japan, OpenAI, Francisco, Adam D’Angelo ., Seoul, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Taiwan, Thailand

☆ OpenAI’s wild week explained: How the Sam Altman story unfolded
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( Diksha Madhok | Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

ET, OpenAI publicly announced that it had fired Altman over concerns that he was not always truthful with the board. Sam Altman, left, appears onstage with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella at OpenAI's first developer conference, on Nov. 6, 2023, in San Francisco. OpenAI’s board was also reportedly having second thoughts and considering asking the ousted CEO to return. Ultimately, Microsoft and Altman appear to be the big winners from the dust-up: Altman will continue leading the firm he helped to found. “We are encouraged by the changes to the OpenAI board,” Nadella said on X.

Persons: Elon, Sam Altman —, —, OpenAI, ChatGPT, Altman, Ilya Sutskever, Greg Brockman, Mira Murati, Altman’s, “, what’s, ” Brockman, Kara Swisher, Sam Altman, Satya Nadella, Barbara Ortutay, Nadella, Brockman, Emmett Shear, Murati, ” Nadella, ”, Justin Sullivan, Bret Taylor, Larry Summers, Adam D’Angelo, Shear, … Organizations: New Delhi CNN, Valley Bank, Google, Microsoft, OpenAI's, Sunday, OpenAI, CNBC, Twitter Locations: New York, New Delhi, OpenAI, San Francisco, San Francisco , California

☆ OpenAI’s Cast of Characters
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( Jennifer Korn | Paul Glader | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

Before OpenAI, Altman was president of Y Combinator, mentoring a host of founders and expanding his network in Silicon Valley. “We are encouraged by the changes to the OpenAI board,” he wrote on X on Wednesday. Mira MuratiNamed by the OpenAI board as Altman’s interim successor on Friday, Murati was replaced by Shear before the weekend was done. In September, she joined the board of directors of Shield AI, a defense technology company building AI pilot technology for aircraft. Will HurdAfter joining the OpenAI board in 2021, Hurd was the third director to exit in 2023.

Persons: OpenAI, Sam Altman, Altman, Elon, Satya Nadella, OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Kiko, Emmett Shear, Y, Nadella, ”, Mira Murati, Murati, Shear, “ Mira, ” Nadella, Ilya Sutskever, Brockman, Sutskever, “, we’ve, Adam D’Angelo D’Angelo, Mark Zuckerberg, D’Angelo, Forbes, ” Bret Taylor, Bret Taylor, Elon Musk, Taylor, Justin Kan, Tasha McCauley McCauley, Joseph Gordon, Levitt, McCauley, Greg Brockman Greg Brockman, Peter Thiel, Musk, Helen Toner Toner, AI’s, Toner, Joshua Kushner Kushner, Kushner, Jared Kushner, Karlie Kloss, Charles Kushner, Donald Trump, Larry Summers Summers, Obama, Clinton, Summers, Shivon Zilis, Zilis, Walter Isaacson, Will Hurd, Hurd, Nikki Haley, Reid Hoffman, Hoffman, OpenAI . Hoffman, He’s Organizations: CNN, Stanford University, Microsoft, OpenAI, Colby College, Dartmouth University, Tesla, Time, Phillips Exeter Academy, California Institute of Technology, Facebook, Twitter, Google, Yale University, Justin.tv, GeoSim Systems, Rand Corporation, Centre, Bard College, University of Southern, Harvard University, MIT, Elon, Georgetown’s Center for Security, Emerging Technology, Open, Oscar Health, Memphis Grizzlies, Harvard College, Harvard Business School, Republican, CIA, Allen & Company, Texas, M University, Reid Hoffman LinkedIn, PayPal, LinkedIn, Greylock Partners, SpaceX, Boring Company Locations: Silicon Valley, St, Louis , Missouri, OpenAI, Seattle , Washington, Israel, University of Southern California, North Dakota, Beijing, Georgetown, Canada, United States, Texas, Oxford

While OpenAI later transitioned to a for-profit model, its controlling shareholder remains the nonprofit OpenAI Inc. and its board of directors. This unique structure made it possible for four OpenAI board members — the company's chief scientist, two outside tech entrepreneurs and an academic — to oust CEO Sam Altman on Friday. When it was founded, OpenAI’s original board co-chairs were Altman and Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Musk recently launched his own AI startup, xAI, to compete with OpenAI, Microsoft and Google, among others. OpenAI's board members have not responded to requests for comment.

Persons: ChatGPT, OpenAI, Sam Altman, Berkshire Hathaway, OpenAI’s, ”, Sarah Kreps, Altman, Greg Brockman, “, Kreps, Ilya Sutskever, we’ve, Adam D’Angelo, Tasha McCauley, Helen Toner, Reid Hoffman, Will Hurd, Shivon Zilis, Brockman, Elon Musk, Musk, D’Angelo, tweeting, ” He’s, Matt O'Brien, Michael Liedtke Organizations: FRANCISCO, Google, Facebook, OpenAI Inc, Cornell University’s Tech Policy Institute, Microsoft Corp, Microsoft, Georgetown Center for Security, Emerging Technology, Republican U.S . Rep, Tesla, OpenAI, Associated Press Technology Locations: Berkshire, OpenAI, Will Hurd of Texas, Providence , Rhode Island, San Francisco

The board of directors of OpenAI, the high-flying artificial intelligence start-up, said in a note to employees on Sunday night that its former chief, Sam Altman, would not be returning to his job, while naming his second interim replacement in two days. Emmett Shear, the former chief executive of Twitch, will replace Mira Murati as interim chief executive of OpenAI, the board said. Ms. Murati, a longtime OpenAI executive, had been appointed to that role after Mr. Altman’s ouster on Friday. The board said Mr. Shear has a “unique mix of skills, expertise and relationships that will drive OpenAI forward,” according to the memo viewed by The New York Times. It was signed by each of the four directors on the company’s board; Adam D’Angelo, Helen Toner, Ilya Sutskever, and Tasha McCauley.

Persons: Sam Altman, Emmett Shear, Twitch, Mira Murati, Murati, Altman’s, Shear, ”, Adam D’Angelo, Helen Toner, Ilya Sutskever, Tasha McCauley, “ Organizations: OpenAI, The New York Times

☆ 505 OpenAI employees threaten to quit after Altman fired and his successor was replaced
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-20 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

In a letter obtained by CNN, the more than 500 employees accused the OpenAI board of mishandling Altman’s firing, failing to provide sufficient evidence for claims that Altman had not been candid with the board, and “negotiating in bad faith” with the company’s executive leadership. “Your actions have made it obvious that you are incapable of overseeing OpenAI,” wrote the employees. Murati’s promotion has since been superseded by the appointment of incoming interim CEO Emmett Shear, the 40-year-old co-founder of the livestreaming company Twitch. “Microsoft has assured us that there are positions for all OpenAI employees,” the letter added. After Sutskever posted his message to X, Altman amplified the apology by quote-posting it.

Persons: Sam Altman, Altman, “, ”, reinstates Altman, Greg Brockman, Mira Murati, Ilya Sutskever, OpenAI’s, Murati’s, Emmett Shear, Sutskever, we’ve, Adam D’Angelo, Tasha McCauley, Helen Toner, Altman’s Organizations: CNN, Microsoft, Georgetown University’s Center for Security, Emerging Technology Locations: OpenAI

☆ Sam Altman is back at OpenAI … with a guest badge
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-19 | by ( David Goldman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —Sam Altman is back at OpenAI. But Altman, Brockman and Sutskever in 2019 formed OpenAI LP, a for-profit entity that exists within the larger company’s structure. Altman had pushed the for-profit company to innovate faster and go to market with products. If not, Altman reportedly may opt for another venture, perhaps taking loyalists away from OpenAI to his new landing spot. Either way, OpenAI’s board made a consequential decision that will make massive waves in the AI industry for years to come.

Persons: Sam Altman, “, ” Altman, Greg Brockman, Brockman, Altman, Altman haven’t, Ilya Sutskever, Adam D’Angelo, Tasha McCauley, Helen Toner, Altman “, Kara Swisher, OpenAI Organizations: New, New York CNN, Wall Street, New York Times, Microsoft, GeoSim Systems, Georgetown’s Center for Security, Emerging Technology, CNN Locations: New York, OpenAI, San Francisco, Sutskever

The board of ChatGPT-maker Open AI said Friday it has pushed out its co-founder and CEO Sam Altman after a review found he was “not consistently candid in his communications” with the board. “The board no longer has confidence in his ability to continue leading OpenAI,” the artificial intelligence company said in a statement. Mira Murati, OpenAI’s chief technology officer, will take over as interim CEO effective immediately, the company said, while it searches for a permanent replacement. While not trained as an AI engineer, Altman, now 38, has been seen as a Silicon Valley wunderkind since his early 20s. Forrester analyst Rowan Curran said Altman's departure, “while sudden,” does not likely reflect problems with OpenAI's business.

Persons: Sam Altman, “, Mira Murati, Altman, what’s, He's, Greg Brockman, Ilya Sutskever, Adam D’Angelo, Tasha McCauley, Helen Toner, Mira, ”, Paul Graham, “ Sam, Graham, ” OpenAI, Elon Musk, Musk, Elon ”, Rowan Curran, ” Curran, Haleluya Hadero, Kelvin Chan, Michael Liedtke, David Hamilton Organizations: Associated Press, OpenAI, Economic Cooperation, Georgetown Center for Security, Emerging Technology, Microsoft Locations: openai, London, Asia, San Francisco, New York

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