San Francisco — OpenAI announced on Tuesday that Sam Altman would be returning as CEO, following his recent departure from the company and subsequent announcement of joining Microsoft.
In a post on the social media platform X, OpenAI stated, "We have reached an agreement in principle for Sam to return to OpenAI as CEO with a new initial board of Bret Taylor (Chair), Larry Summers, and Adam D'Angelo."
In his own statement on the platform, Altman expressed his love for OpenAI and stated that everything he had done over the past few days was in service of keeping the team and its mission together.
Altman explained that when he made the decision to join Microsoft on Sunday evening, it seemed like the best path for him and the team. However, with the announcement of the new board by OpenAI and the support of Microsoft's chairman and CEO Satya Nadella, Altman expressed his excitement about returning to the company he helped establish and building on their strong partnership with Microsoft.
Nadella said Microsoft's leadership had been "encouraged by the changes to the OpenAI board" and that the company believed they were "a first essential step on a path to more stable, well-informed, and effective governance."
OpenAI, which makes the popular artificial intelligence powered chatbot ChatGPT, said Friday that Altman was pushed out after a review found he was "not consistently candid in his communications" with the board of directors, which had lost confidence in his ability to lead OpenAI.
One Wall Street research firm said, however, that it believed tensions had arisen over Altman's push to develop more advanced products.
"These tensions likely resulted in frustrating communications and Sam making some operational decisions without keeping the board fully aware," said New Street Research in a Monday research note. "The coup, and the sibylline associated blog post, about Sam not being 'consistently candid in his communications with the board, hindering its ability to exercise its responsibilities' resulted from this situation."
One board member tweeted that they regretted their participation in the decision to oust Altman.
"I deeply regret my participation in the board's actions. I never intended to harm OpenAI. I love everything we've built together and I will do everything I can to reunite the company," wrote board member Ilya Sutskever in a Monday morning social media post.
Altman's leadership as CEO propelled ChatGPT to worldwide recognition, establishing its position as a prominent player in the artificial intelligence landscape. Over the past year, Altman has emerged as a highly influential figure in Silicon Valley, renowned for his insights into the possibilities and risks associated with AI.
