OpenAI Employees Threaten Mass Resignation Over Sam Altman Ouster
Over 650 OpenAI employees sign a letter demanding the board resign and reinstate former CEO Sam Altman. The unprecedented revolt follows Altman's move to Microsoft to lead a new advanced AI research lab.
Nearly all of OpenAI's employees threaten to quit unless the startup's board resigns and reappoints Sam Altman as CEO. Over 650 of the roughly 770 workers sign a public letter stating that the board's abrupt termination of Altman jeopardizes the company's mission and proves the directors lack the competence to oversee OpenAI.
Chief scientist and board director Ilya Sutskever publicly expresses deep regret for his role in removing Altman, vowing to do everything he can to reunite the company. His about-face comes as former president Greg Brockman and Altman join Microsoft to lead a new advanced AI research lab, with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella welcoming other OpenAI colleagues to follow them.
The startup's board faces immense pressure from multiple directions as investors put OpenAI's financing in jeopardy and Microsoft positions itself as a newly minted rival. Sutskever finds himself caught between a crumbling internal structure and the fallout of a weekend debacle that rapidly spirals out of the board's control.