OpenAI board, Altman in talks for return of former CEO – Bloomberg News
2023.11.21 13:30
© Reuters. Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit in San Francisco, California, U.S. November 16, 2023. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo
(Reuters) -Sam Altman and OpenAI’s board have opened discussions with the aim of bringing back the former CEO of the artificial intelligence startup, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Discussions are happening between Altman and at least one board member, Adam D’Angelo, and the former CEO could return as a director on a transitional board, the report said.
OpenAI did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
The AI company behind ChatGPT fired Altman in a shock move on Friday and before the weekend was over, OpenAI investor Microsoft (NASDAQ:) had hired him and Greg Brockman, another co-founder of the startup.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said on a CNBC interview on Monday that he was open to staff staying at OpenAI or coming to the Windows maker.
OpenAI’s interim CEO, Emmett Shear, has told people close to the company that he does not plan to stay if the board can’t clearly convey the reason for Altman’s ouster, the Bloomberg report said.
Other than Quora’s D’Angelo, OpenAI’s four-person board consisted of Tasha McCauley, Helen Toner and OpenAI chief scientist Ilya Sutskever as of Friday.