Microsoft snapped up Sam Altman and another architect of OpenAI for a new venture after their sudden departures , leaving the newly installed CEO of the ChatGPT maker to paper over tensions by vowing to investigate Altman鈥檚 firing.
The developments Monday come after a weekend of drama and speculation about how the power dynamics would shake out at OpenAI, whose chatbot kicked off the by producing human-like text, images, video and music.
It ended with former Twitch leader Emmett Shear taking over as OpenAI鈥檚 interim chief executive and Microsoft announcing it was hiring Altman and OpenAI co-founder and former President Greg Brockman to lead Microsoft鈥檚 new advanced AI research team.
Despite the rift between the key players behind ChatGPT and the company they helped build, both Shear and Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella said they are committed to their partnership.
in the startup and helped provide the computing power to run its AI systems. , formerly known as Twitter, that he was 鈥渆xtremely excited鈥� to bring on the former executives of OpenAI and looked 鈥渇orward to getting to know鈥� Shear and the rest of the management team.
In a reply on X, Altman said 鈥渢he mission continues,鈥� while Brockman posted, 鈥淲e are going to build something new & it will be incredible.鈥�
OpenAI said Friday that Altman was pushed out after a review found he was 鈥渘ot consistently candid in his communications鈥� with the board of directors, which had lost confidence in his ability to lead the company.
, Shear said he would hire an independent investigator to look into what led up to Altman鈥檚 ouster and write a report within 30 days.
鈥淚t鈥檚 clear that the process and communications around Sam鈥檚 removal has been handled very badly, which has seriously damaged our trust,鈥� wrote Shear, who co-founded Twitch, an Amazon-owned livestreaming service popular with video gamers.
He said he also plans in the next month to 鈥渞eform the management and leadership team in light of recent departures into an effective force鈥� and speak with employees, investors and customers.
After that, Shear said he would 鈥渄rive changes in the organization,鈥� including 鈥渟ignificant governance changes if necessary.鈥� He noted that the reason behind the board removing Altman was not a 鈥渟pecific disagreement on safety,鈥� a likely reference to the debates that have swirled around OpenAI鈥檚 mission to safely build AI that is 鈥済enerally smarter than humans.鈥�
OpenAI last week declined to answer questions on what Altman鈥檚 alleged lack of candor was about. Its statement said his behavior was hindering the board鈥檚 ability to exercise its responsibilities. But a key driver of Friday鈥檚 shakeup, OpenAI鈥檚 co-founder, chief scientist and board member Ilya Sutskever, posted regrets on the situation to X on Monday: 鈥淚 deeply regret my participation in the board鈥檚 actions. I never intended to harm OpenAI. I love everything we鈥檝e built together and I will do everything I can to reunite the company.鈥�
OpenAI didn鈥檛 reply to emails Monday seeking comment. A Microsoft representative said the company would not be commenting beyond its CEO鈥檚 statement.
After Altman was pushed out Friday, he stirred speculation that he might be coming back into the fold in a series of tweets. He posted a photo of himself with an OpenAI guest pass on Sunday, saying this is 鈥渇irst and last time i ever wear one of these.鈥�
Hours earlier, he tweeted, 鈥渋 love the openai team so much,鈥� which drew heart replies from Brockman, who quit after Altman was fired, and Mira Murati, OpenAI鈥檚 who was initially named as interim CEO.
It鈥檚 not clear what transpired between the announcement of Murati鈥檚 interim role Friday and Shear鈥檚 hiring, though she was among several employees on Monday who tweeted, 鈥淥penAI is nothing without its people.鈥� Altman replied to many with heart emojis.
One of OpenAI鈥檚 safety-focused researchers, Jan Leike, called on the OpenAI board to resign Monday, saying he had been working all weekend with the company鈥檚 leadership team 鈥渢o help with this crisis.鈥� The board consists of Sutskever, Quora CEO Adam D鈥橝ngelo, tech entrepreneur Tasha McCauley and Helen Toner of the Georgetown Center for Security and Emerging Technology.
Shear said he stepped down as Twitch CEO because of the birth of his now-9-month-old son but 鈥渢ook this job because I believe that OpenAI is one of the most important companies currently in existence.鈥�
His beliefs on the future of AI came up on a podcast in June. Shear said he鈥檚 generally an optimist about technology but has serious concerns about the path of artificial intelligence toward building something 鈥渁 lot smarter than us鈥� that sets itself on a .
鈥淚f there is a world where we survive 鈥� where we build an AI that鈥檚 smarter than humans and survive it, it鈥檚 going to be because we built smaller AIs than that, and we actually had as many smart people as we can working on that, and taking the problem seriously,鈥� Shear said in June.
It鈥檚 an issue that Altman consistently faced since he helped catapult ChatGPT to global fame. In the past year, he has become Silicon Valley鈥檚 most sought-after voice on the promise and potential .
to meet with government officials earlier this year, drawing big crowds at public events as he discussed both the risks of AI and attempts to .
Altman posted Friday on X that 鈥渋 loved my time at openai鈥� and later called his ouster a 鈥渨eird experience.鈥�
鈥淚f Microsoft lost Altman he could have gone to Amazon, Google, Apple, or a host of other tech companies craving to get the face of AI globally in their doors,鈥� Daniel Ives, an analyst with Wedbush Securities, said in a research note.
Microsoft is now in an even stronger position on AI, Ives said. Its shares rose nearly 2% before the opening bell and were nearing an all-time high Monday.
The Associated Press and OpenAI have a allowing OpenAI access to part of the AP鈥檚 text archives.
___
AP writer Brian P. D. Hannon contributed from Bangkok.
Courtney Bonnell And Matt O鈥檅rien, The Associated Press
