OpenAI's tumultuous week: Sam Altman returns as CEO of OpenAI.

Over the past year, Elon Musk transformed Twitter into an X, the FTX cryptocurrency exchange collapsed, and Sam Bankman-Fried and Changpeng Zhao (CZ) were convicted.

Last week, OpenAI and Sam Altman continued to add to the chaos in the global tech world with hourly developments.

Sam Altman – the most prominent name in the field of artificial intelligence – was unexpectedly fired by the startup's board of directors on the evening of November 17th.

Less than five days later, he returned as CEO of the company with a new board of directors that, in theory, was more supportive of his vision.

sam altman.png — Sam Altman returns to OpenAI four days after being fired. (Photo: TechCrunch)

A series of special events took place just days after OpenAI held its first developer conference, where they unveiled new versions and commercialized their technology.

Friday (November 17)

At approximately 3 p.m. local time, Altman joined a Google Meet call with most of OpenAI's board of directors, convened by OpenAI co-founder and chief scientist Ilya Sutskever. There, Altman was informed of his dismissal, and the news would soon be made public.

Within the next half hour, the board also informed Greg Brockman, another co-founder and chairman of OpenAI, that he would be removed from the board.

Around 3:30 PM, OpenAI publicly announced the dismissal of Sam Altman for not always being truthful with the board of directors. The board stated that Chief Technology Officer Mira Murati would become interim CEO.

OpenAI's strategic partners, including its biggest financial backer Microsoft, only had public access to the information a few minutes before it was released.

Brockman quickly resigned. "Please don't waste your time worrying. We'll be fine," Brockman wrote on X. "Better things will come soon."

According to CNN, a key factor in the CEO's dismissal was the tension between Sam Altman, who advocated for more aggressive AI development, and members of the OpenAI board of directors who preferred a more cautious approach.

Saturday (November 18)

Within 24 hours, numerous news articles reported that Sam and other former OpenAI employees were considering plans for their own company.

The board of directors is also reportedly reconsidering and thinking about bringing Sam back.

Sunday (November 19)

By Sunday afternoon, Altman arrived at OpenAI headquarters—this time with a visitor pass—to negotiate his possible return. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella reportedly mediated the discussions.

The board of directors had to agree to Sam Altman's demands, including adding a seat for Microsoft and reinstating him as CEO, by 5 p.m.

However, those negotiations failed.

Nadella tweeted that Sam Altman, along with Brockman, will be joining Microsoft to lead a new AI research team.

OpenAI has also found an interim CEO: Emmett Shear, former CEO of Amazon's streaming service, Twitch. Murati will return as OpenAI's Chief Technology Officer.

Monday (November 20)

In an X post early Monday, Shear described the opportunity to join OpenAI as a "once-in-a-lifetime" chance. He added that the company would hire an independent investigator to report on what happened before Sam Altman was fired.

But OpenAI employees were not convinced. More than 500 employees signed an open letter calling for the company's board of directors to resign and for Sam Altman and Brockman to be reinstated.

They also threatened to follow the co-founders to Microsoft if their demands were not met.

On the afternoon of November 20th, The Verge reported that Sam Altman and Brockman could still return to OpenAI if the board members resign.

CEO Nadella told CNBC he was " open to both options" when asked if Sam Altman was actually joining Microsoft.

Tuesday (November 21)

Sam Altman was reinstated as CEO of OpenAI late Tuesday, the company said on X.

"We have reached an agreement in principle for Sam Altman to return to OpenAI as CEO with a new board of directors."

Additionally, the board of directors will be chaired by Bret Taylor, former CEO of Salesforce. Former US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers will also join the board, along with current director and Quora CEO Adam D'Angelo.

Shear's future with Sam Altman's return remains unclear. On X, Shear wrote: "I am extremely pleased with this result, after about 72 very intense hours of work."

Brockman will also be returning to OpenAI.

Microsoft and Sam Altman appear to be the ultimate winners: Altman will continue to lead the company he co-founded.

Microsoft gained more control over the company it had supported with billions of dollars to bolster its AI development ambitions.

(According to CNN)

Sam Altman reinstated, OpenAI changes board structure . OpenAI representatives announced they have reached an 'agreement in principle' for Sam Altman to return as CEO, along with changes to the board of directors.

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