Talks to bring back Sam Altman continue at OpenAI

Altman’s sudden decision to join Microsoft is not finalized, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said in an interview with CNBC on Monday. A person familiar with the matter said he would only return to OpenAI if the board members who ousted him resign. In the CNBC interview Monday afternoon, Nadella sought to assure customers and investors that his business was on solid footing, regardless of the outcome. He left the door open for Altman to return to OpenAI or continue as Microsoft’s AI leader, although he announced Sunday evening that Altman would return to Microsoft. “I’m open to both options,” Nadella said in the CNBC interview.

Altman also indicated he could always return. “We will all work together in one way or another,” he said Monday morning in a message on X, formerly Twitter. He added that “the top priority remains ensuring OpenAI continues to thrive. We are committed to fully ensuring the continuity of operations for our partners and customers.

This leaves the fate of Altman and OpenAI uncertain, more than three full days after he was fired by the board.

The latest developments come amid a dizzying few days for OpenAI that have cast doubt on the lab’s future, a radical change in fortunes for a company that until just a few days ago was considered one of the top startups the most promising in Silicon Valley. with a valuation close to $90 billion.

On Friday, its board abruptly removed Altman from his role as chief executive, saying he was “not always candid” in his communications. This triggered a two-day period in which Altman visited the company’s headquarters to negotiate his potential return to the lab, only to see those negotiations collapse overnight Sunday into Monday, when Microsoft announced that Altman was joining the company, alongside Greg Brockman, the former Chairman of OpenAI who had resigned in solidarity with Altman.

On Sunday evening, OpenAI’s board of directors announced that it would support Altman’s ouster and named Emmett Shear as interim CEO. The shear is the co-founder of Twitch, a popular video game streaming platform.

On Monday, nearly every employee signed a letter threatening to resign unless the current board resigns and reappoints Altman. In a bizarre twist, the letter included among the signatories Ilya Sutskever, the company’s chief scientist and a key member of the company’s four-person board of directors, who voted in favor of ousting Altman Friday.

“Your actions have made it clear that you are incapable of overseeing OpenAI,” the employees wrote in the letter. “We are unable to work for or with people who lack skill, judgment and concern for our mission and our employees. »

On Tuesday morning, Kevin Scott, Microsoft’s chief technology officer, told .