This decision, made by the board of directors, has sparked a series of repercussions within the company.
OpenAIs board is facing pressure from investors and employees to reinstate Altman.
Meanwhile, Altman and Brockman have announced their decision to join Microsoft.
As the situation continues to develop, thefuture of OpenAI and its leadership remains uncertain.
This conversation laid the groundwork for the events to follow.
November 17
Brockman received a text from Sutskever, stating that Altman had been fired.
Brockman was demoted from his position as chairman but assured his continued role as president.
OpenAI made an official announcement about Altmans departure on their blog.
The management team was notified beforehand.
Brockman announced his resignation from OpenAI and published a memo explaining his decision.
Communication breakdown between Altman and the board was cited as the main reason.
Altman informed investors about his plans to launch a new venture, potentially in the field of AI chips.
Investors, including Microsoft, exerted pressure on OpenAIs board to reinstate Altman.
The board agreed in principle but missed the deadline set by departing OpenAI staff.
Board negotiations were ongoing, with Lightcap and Murati advocating for Altmans return, while the directors resisted.
Salesforce co-CEO Bret Taylor was considered as a possible addition to the board.
Altman will not be returning as CEO, according to an internal memo from Sutskever.
Emmett Shear, co-founder of Twitch, was appointed as the interim CEO.
OpenAI employees were assured of resources should they choose to join as well.
Sutskever expressed regret for his role in Altmans removal and pledged to work towards reinstating him as CEO.
Nearly 500 employees, including Sutskever, threatened to resign unless the board resigned and Altman was reinstated.
The number of employees willing to resign continued to grow.
Altman and Brockman remained open to returning to OpenAI if the remaining board members stepped aside.
The OpenAI board approached Dario Amodei, the CEO of rival company Anthropic, about a potential merger.
However, Amodei turned down the offer to replace Altman as CEO.
