Former OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and former President Greg Brockman joined executives at the company’s San Francisco, California headquarters on Sunday (Nov 19) after being invited by interim CEO Mira Murati, according to a report by The Information.
A report by Bloomberg, citing people with direct knowledge of the matter, said that the interim CEO plans to re-hire her ousted predecessor in a capacity that has yet to be finalised.
Sam Altman at OpenAI HQ
The former chief of the leading artificial intelligence firm posted an image of himself at the company’s HQ holding a guest ID pass with the caption, “First and last time i ever wear one of these.”
According to a report by the tech news site The Information, OpenAI’s former president and co-founder, Brockman also arrived at the office on Sunday.
The report citing two people familiar with the talks also said that if Altman returns to OpenAI, Microsoft, the AI company’s biggest backer, would consider taking a role on the board.
The tech giant could either take a seat on OpenAI’s board of directors or as a board observer without voting power, The Information’s report added.
Altman’s ouster
OpenAI, the company behind the popular generative AI chatbot ChatGPT released a statement about Altman’s ouster and said he was under a formal review and that he had hidden information from the company board and was fired after the board decided that they had lost confidence in him.
“Altman’s departure follows a deliberative review process by the board, which concluded that he was not consistently candid in his communications with the board, hindering its ability to exercise its responsibilities,” said OpenAI.
It added, “The board no longer has confidence in his ability to continue leading OpenAI.”
The statement said the board was “grateful for Sam’s many contributions to the founding and growth of OpenAI. At the same time, we believe new leadership is necessary as we move forward.”
Altman’s ouster has angered current and former employees amid concerns about how an upcoming $86 billion share sale could be affected by the sudden management upheaval, reported Reuters.
(With inputs from agencies)
