New revelations surrounding Sam Altman's removal from OpenAI have surfaced, indicating that the company's previous board intentionally excluded Microsoft after initially voting to remove Altman as CEO.
According to The New Yorker, Microsoft executives, including Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella, were caught off guard by the decision to oust Altman. The move was perceived by some at Microsoft as "mind-bogglingly stupid," raising concerns about potential repercussions for the ChatGPT developer.
Upon recovering from the shock of Altman's firing, Nadella reportedly reached out to an OpenAI board member, Adam D’Angelo, seeking clarification. D’Angelo informed Nadella that Altman had not been consistently transparent in his communications with the board. Frustrated, Nadella hung up, questioning why Microsoft, owning nearly half of OpenAI's for-profit arm, had not been consulted on such a significant decision.
In response to Altman's removal, Microsoft executives convened on a video call with Nadella, exploring various strategies. Plan A involved stabilizing the situation by supporting the acting CEO, Murati, and collaborating to potentially reverse the board's decision. Plan B focused on leveraging Microsoft's influence to reinstate Altman as CEO and reconfigure OpenAI's governance by replacing board members. Plan C contemplated hiring Altman and his key colleagues to essentially rebuild OpenAI within Microsoft.
Nadella eventually brought Altman on board for a brief period to pursue advanced AI initiatives. However, after a dramatic turn of events, Altman ultimately returned as OpenAI's CEO, with Microsoft securing a non-voting observer seat on the company's board.
The new board of OpenAI includes chair Bret Taylor, Larry Summers, and Adam D’Angelo, the sole remaining member from the previous board. Despite the upheaval, Microsoft, a significant investor in OpenAI, maintains a 49% stake in the for-profit entity.
(With Agency Inputs)
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