ChatGPT's parent company OpenAI suddenly fires CEO Sam Altman

OpenAI said OpenAI Chief Technology Officer Mira Murati will serve as interim CEO, adding that it will conduct a search for a permanent CEO in the future.

gpt issuer falls CEO sam altman shocks tech industry — CEO Sam Altman was suddenly fired by OpenAI. Photo: Reuters

“Altman’s departure follows a deliberate board review process that concluded that he had inconsistent communications with the board that impacted his ability to carry out his responsibilities,” OpenAI said on its blog.

Backed by billions of dollars from Microsoft, OpenAI kicked off the creative AI craze last November by releasing the ChatGPT chatbot, which has since become one of the fastest-growing pieces of software in the world .

Altman, who runs Y Combinator, is an entrepreneur and investor. He has been a prominent face of OpenAI and AI technology in general over the past year, appearing in the press and at top events about this hot technology.

Altman posted on X shortly after being fired from OpenAI: “I loved my time at OpenAI. It was transformative for me personally and hopefully a little bit for the world. Most of all, I loved working with the talented people there. There will be more to say about what comes next.”

New CEO Murati, who previously worked at Tesla, joined OpenAI in 2018 and later became the company's chief technology officer. She is responsible for overseeing the company's product launches, including ChatGPT.

Digital forums have been flooded with comments expressing shock and regret at the news of Altman's ouster. On X, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt called Altman "my hero."

“He built a company from nothing to $90 billion and changed our shared world forever. I can’t wait to see what he does next. I and billions of people will benefit from his future work – it’s going to be amazing,” he added.

“This is a shock, and Altman has been a key ingredient in OpenAI’s success,” said Daniel Ives, an analyst at Wedbush Securities. “This leads us to believe that Microsoft and Nadella want to exert more control over OpenAI going forward after Altman leaves.”

Altman is considered a master fundraiser, having negotiated billions of dollars in investment from Microsoft as well as spearheaded the company's public offering this year, helping to value OpenAI from $29 billion to more than $80 billion.

Other analysts say Altman's departure, while groundbreaking, won't hurt the popularity of next-generation AI or OpenAI or Microsoft's competitive advantage.

“The innovation being created by OpenAI is bigger than any one or two people, and there’s no reason to think this will cause OpenAI to cede the lead,” said DA Davidson analyst Gil Luria.

Until Thursday night, Altman had shown no signs of concern at two events on Friday. He joined colleagues on a panel on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in San Francisco, where he outlined his commitment and vision for AI.

He then spoke at a Burning Man-related event in Oakland, California, for an hour-long conversation on art and AI. Altman appeared comfortable and gave no indication that anything was amiss, but left shortly after his talk ended at 7:30 p.m.

Hoang Anh (according to Reuters)

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