Insiders Advisor
  • Stocks
  • World News
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Stocks
  • World News
  • Business
  • Politics

Insiders Advisor

Business

Sam Altman rejoins OpenAI board of directors, months after removal

by March 9, 2024
March 9, 2024
Sam Altman rejoins OpenAI board of directors, months after removal

OpenAI on Friday announced its new board and the wrap-up of an internal investigation into the events leading up to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s ouster.

Altman will also rejoin OpenAI’s board.

The new board members are:

The three new members will “work closely with current board members Adam D’Angelo, Larry Summers and Bret Taylor as well as Greg, Sam, and OpenAI’s senior management,” according to a release.

OpenAI will continue to expand the board moving forward, according to a Zoom call with reporters.

OpenAI did not publish the investigation report by U.S. law firm WilmerHale but provided a summary of the findings.

“The review concluded there was a significant breakdown of trust between the prior board and Sam and Greg,” Taylor said, adding that the review also “concluded the board acted in good faith… [and] did not anticipate some of the instability that led afterwards.”

Taylor also said the board’s concerns did not arise regarding concerns over product safety and security, OpenAI’s finances or statements to customers or business partners, that it was “simply a breakdown in trust between the board and Mr. Altman.”

WilmerHale’s investigation began in December, and the lawyers on Friday submitted their report, which included dozens of interviews with OpenAI’s prior board members and advisors, current executives and other witnesses. The investigation also involved reviewing more than 30,000 documents, according to a release.

“We have unanimously concluded that Sam and Greg are the right leaders for OpenAI,” Taylor, the chair of OpenAI’s board, said in a release.

“I am very grateful to Bret and Larry and WilmerHale,” Altman said on the Zoom call with reporters. He added, speaking of CTO Mira Murati, “Mira in particular is incremental to OpenAI all the time … but through that period in November, she has done an amazing job helping to lead the company.”

He added that he is “excited to be moving forward here” and for the situation to be “over.” He also mentioned he wished he had acted differently regarding differences in opinion with the board.

In November, OpenAI’s board ousted Altman, prompting resignations — or threats of resignations — including an open letter signed by virtually all of OpenAI’s employees, and uproar from investors, including Microsoft. Within a week, Altman was back at the company, and board members Helen Toner, Tasha McCauley and Ilya Sutskever, who had voted to oust Altman, were out. Adam D’Angelo, who had also voted to oust Altman, stayed on the board.

When Altman was asked about Sutskever’s status on the Zoom call with reporters, he said there were no updates to share.

“I love Ilya… I hope we work together for the rest of our careers, my career, whatever,” Altman said. “Nothing to announce today.”

Since then, OpenAI has announced new board members, including Taylor, former co-CEO of Salesforce, and former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers. Microsoft obtained a nonvoting board observer position.

After ChatGPT’s launch in November 2022, it broke records at the time as the fastest-growing consumer app in history, and now has about 100 million weekly active users, along with more than 92% of Fortune 500 companies using the platform, according to OpenAI. Last year, Microsoft invested an additional $10 billion in the company, making it the biggest AI investment of the year, according to PitchBook.

The rollercoaster couple of weeks at the company are still affecting it months later.

This month, billionaire tech magnate Elon Musk sued OpenAI co-founders Altman and Greg Brockman for breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty, court filings revealed Thursday.

In his complaint, Musk and his attorneys allege that the ChatGPT maker “has been transformed into a closed-source de facto subsidiary of the largest technology company in the world: Microsoft.” They also argue that this arrangement goes against a founding agreement and 2015 certification of incorporation that OpenAI established with Musk, who was a pivotal donor to a cofounder of OpenAI in its early years.

As part of Microsoft’s contract with OpenAI, the tech giant only has rights to OpenAI’s “pre-AGI” technology, and it is up to OpenAI’s board to determine whether the company has reached that milestone. Musk argued in his filing that since the OpenAI board shuffle in November — when Toner, McCauley and Sutskever were removed — the new board is “ill-equipped” to independently determine whether OpenAI has reached AGI and therefore whether its technology is outside the scope of the exclusivity deal with Microsoft.

Lawyers told CNBC that they had doubts about the legal viability of Musk’s case, and OpenAI has said it plans to file a motion to dismiss all of Musk’s claims.

In response to the high-profile lawsuit, OpenAI reproduced old emails from Musk in which the Tesla and SpaceX CEO encouraged the rising startup to raise at least $1 billion in funding, and agreed that it should “start being less open” over time and “not share” the company’s science with the public.

Musk’s lawsuit also follows some controversy over Altman’s previous chip endeavors and investments.

In 2018, Altman personally invested in an AI chip startup called Rain Neuromorphics, based near OpenAI’s San Francisco headquarters, and in 2019, OpenAI signed a letter of intent to spend $51 million on Rain’s chips. In December, the U.S. compelled a Saudi Aramco-backed venture capital firm to sell its shares in Rain.

This post appeared first on NBC NEWS
previous post
Shredded cheese recall over listeria concerns in 15 states affects food-maker Sargento
next post
Gaza humanitarian aid port likely to take approximately two months, 1,000 US troops to build: Pentagon

Related Posts

Ticketmaster offers four tickets for $80 to selected...

July 19, 2024

Spotify is increasing U.S. prices for many of...

June 4, 2024

Meta announces 5% cuts in preparation for ‘intense...

January 15, 2025

Apple’s Maryland store workers vote to authorize strike

May 13, 2024

Tariff threat looms over the year’s biggest electronics...

January 9, 2025

Peloton launching resale market for used bikes, treadmills

June 4, 2025

Spirit Airlines gets rid of change and cancellation...

May 22, 2024

7 ways that Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol plans...

November 1, 2024

Walmart launches new grocery brand as it tries...

May 1, 2024

Philip Morris to invest $232 million to expand...

August 29, 2024

    Fill Out & Get More Relevant News


    Stay ahead of the market and unlock exclusive trading insights & timely news. We value your privacy - your information is secure, and you can unsubscribe anytime. Gain an edge with hand-picked trading opportunities, stay informed with market-moving updates, and learn from expert tips & strategies.

    Latest News

    • State Department to begin mass layoffs of about 1,800 employees in coming days

      July 11, 2025
    • Duffy just got an additional job in Trump’s administration, and he’s not the only one wearing multiple hats

      July 11, 2025
    • Duffy just got an additional job in Trump’s administration — and he’s not the only one wearing multiple hats

      July 10, 2025
    • ‘It will happen quickly’: State Dept poised to act after Supreme Court green-lights agency layoffs

      July 10, 2025
    • Hegseth tears up red tape, orders Pentagon to begin drone surge at Trump’s command

      July 10, 2025
    • SCOOP: Sen Ron Johnson readies subpoenas for FBI, DOJ in Butler shooting probe

      July 10, 2025

    Categories

    • Business (1,303)
    • Politics (6,344)
    • Stocks (904)
    • World News (460)
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms & Conditions

    Disclaimer: insidersadvisor.com, its managers, its employees, and assigns (collectively “The Company”) do not make any guarantee or warranty about what is advertised above. Information provided by this website is for research purposes only and should not be considered as personalized financial advice. The Company is not affiliated with, nor does it receive compensation from, any specific security. The Company is not registered or licensed by any governing body in any jurisdiction to give investing advice or provide investment recommendation. Any investments recommended here should be taken into consideration only after consulting with your investment advisor and after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company.

    Copyright © 2024 insidersadvisor.com | All Rights Reserved