Sam Altman to return to OpenAI as CEO

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman speaks during the APEC CEO Summit at Moscone West on November 16, 2023 in San Francisco, California. The APEC summit is being held in San Francisco and runs through November 17.Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Sam Altman is returning to OpenAI as CEO. There will be a new initial board with Bret Taylor as Chair. The other members will be Larry Summers and Adam D’Angelo.

OpenAI co-founded by Altman as a nonprofit with a mission to safely build so-called artificial general intelligence that outperforms humans and benefits humanity, OpenAI later became a for-profit business but one still run by its nonprofit board of directors

Late Tuesday, OpenAI said Sam Altman was returning as its chief executive, five days after the artificial intelligence start-up’s board of directors forced him out

A shocking power-struggle roller coaster. Altman’s dismissal on Friday followed what OpenAI said was a “deliberative review process by the board, which concluded that he was not consistently candid in his communications with them, hindering its ability to exercise its responsibilities.”

OpenAI is welcoming Sam Altman and former President Greg Brockman back following the boardroom coup, a move seen by investors as a win for the firm’s mission. This shake-up includes a new board aimed at resetting OpenAI’s governance and a planned investigation into the recent turmoil. Both Microsoft and Altman wish to occupy seats in an expanded board.