Sam Altman was fired as CEO of OpenAI, with Chief Technology Officer Mira Murati stepping in as his interim successor amid a search for a permanent solution.
OpenAI sees major transition: Sam Altman fired, Mira Murati steps up
The board’s decision for Altman’s departure followed a thorough review process, citing issues with his transparency in communications.
“The board no longer has confidence in his ability to continue leading OpenAI,” the statement read.
The board’s gob-smacking announcement comes two weeks after Altman led the company’s inaugural DevDay, a keynote address where developers huddled to explore new tools and share ideas directly with OpenAI’s team.
Altman, showing no indication of turmoil behind the scenes, expressed enthusiasm about the groundbreaking leaps OpenAI was making to advance their product.
“We’re looking forward to showing our latest work to enable developers to build new things,” he said at the time.
Fast forward less than two weeks later and the board sang an entirely different tune.
In its statement, the board recognised Altman’s contributions to OpenAI’s founding and growth but emphasised the need for new leadership to advance the organisation’s mission.
“OpenAI was deliberately structured to advance our mission: to ensure that artificial general intelligence benefits all humanity. The board remains fully committed to serving this mission. We are grateful for Sam’s many contributions to the founding and growth of OpenAI. At the same time, we believe new leadership is necessary as we move forward,” the board of directors noted.
Enter Mira Murati.
Murati has been a part of OpenAI’s leadership team for five years, playing a pivotal role in its development as a global AI leader.
Her extensive experience in AI governance, policy, research, product, and safety functions positions her as a uniquely qualified candidate for this role, the board asserted.
“We have the utmost confidence in her ability to lead OpenAI during this transition period,” the statement read.
Altman’s ally, Greg Brockman, will also vacate his position as chairman of the board while continuing in his role within the company, reporting to the CEO.
Here’s a look at OpenAI’s current board of directors:
- chief scientist Ilya Sutskever;
- independent directors Quora CEO Adam D’Angelo;
- technology entrepreneur Tasha McCauley; and
- Georgetown Centre for Security and Emerging Technology’s Helen Toner.