Sam Altman's Firing To OpenAI Return In 4 Days: How The Drama Unfolded

Sam Altman is back as CEO of OpenAI - four crazy days after the board sacked him because it had "lost confidence" in his ability to lead the Microsoft-backed firm. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the company said, "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."

Mr Altman confirmed the development, posting, "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. I'm looking forward to returning to OpenAI, and building on our strong partnership with Microsoft."

READ | Massive Twist In OpenAI Saga, Sam Altman Returns As CEO Within 5 Days

Microsoft Corporation CEO Satya Nadella - who hours earlier had confirmed that Mr Altman would join the tech giant - had said he was open to Sam Altman staying at OpenAI. However, he said the leadership team at that company needed a change, no matter where Mr Altman ended up.

Speculation Mr Altman could make a sensational return to the artificial intelligence start-up - in truth, persistent since shortly after he was fired - broke Tuesday after Bloomberg News cited sources as saying both sides had opened talks. These talks included Microsoft, the start-up firm's backer.

On November 21

An internal memo reviewed by Bloomberg News said OpenAI was in "intense discussions" to unify its divided staff. The memo, dated the night before, was from Anna Makanju, the Vice President of Global Affairs, and said company management was in touch with Mr Altman over a possible return.

READ | OpenAI In "Intense Discussions" To Unify Company, Reveals Memo

In a surprise announcement, Mr Nadella said Sam Altman and others would join Microsoft following their firing from OpenAI. "We've learned a lot over the years about how to give founders and innovators space to build independent identities and cultures within Microsoft, including GitHub, Mojang Studios, and LinkedIn...," he said in reply to Mr Altman's "mission continues" post.

READ | Satya Nadella's Big Announcement On Sam Altman After OpenAI Sacking

On November 20

Earlier on Monday night, almost all OpenAI staff - over 700 of around 770 - threatened to quit and follow Mr Altman to Microsoft. They said they were "unable to work for or with people that lack competence, judgment and care for our mission...", and demanded the board's resignation.

In an impressive show of loyalty, most also refused lucrative offers from Salesforce, after CEO Marc Benioff said he would match pay and OTE (open trade equity) for any resigning OpenAI research.

READ | OpenAI Employees Rejects Salesforce CEO's Job Offer: "We're With Sam Altman"

Also on Monday, Reuters reported OpenAI had approached rival Anthropic's CEO, Dario Amodei, about replacing Mr Altman and potentially merging the two AI start-ups. The offer was refused.

READ | OpenAI's Board Approached Rival AI CEO To Replace Sam Altman: Report

On November 19

On Sunday, the board offered ex-Twitch CEO Emmett Shear the role of interim chief. Mr Shear, who once referred to AI as "dangerous" and said "every technology can be misused", accepted the offer.

After news of Mr Altman's return, Mr Shear said he was "deeply pleased by this result".

Sunday was also when the first rumours of Mr Altman's sensational return surfaced.

READ | OpenAI Board In Talks With Sam Altman To Get Him Back As CEO: Report

Sources said investors were pushing the board to reverse its decision, and had also approached the Microsoft, OpenAI's largest shareholder, to intervene on Mr Altman's behalf. Microsoft has invested billions in OpenAI, weaving its technology into its offerings, including search engine Bing.

On November 18

The day after his sacking, Mr Altman reportedly told investors of plans to launch a new venture, which would include Mr Brockman. In September, Mr Altman and Apple's former design chief, Jony Ive, were reportedly discussing a still-in-development project - a new AI hardware device.

READ | OpenAI's Sam Altman Planning New Venture After Getting Fired: Report

On November 17

Following its sacking of Mr Altman, the OpenAI board installed Mira Murati as interim CEO. Ms Murati, 34, had been the company's Chief Technology Officer from May last year.

The company stressed that a "search process (is) underway to identify a permanent successor".

This entire saga erupted after Sam Altman was fired by the Open AI board on Friday.

Mr Altman shot to fame with the launch of ChatGPT last year, which ignited a race to advance AI research and development, as well as billions being invested in the sector. It was reported he was sacked because his efforts to increasingly monetise the company's leading GPT-4 model - all while keeping its inner functioning a secret - were becoming too problematic for the board.

With input from agencies

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