Sam Altman is no longer OpenAI’s CEO after losing board support

Sam Altman is out as the CEO of OpenAI after losing the support of the board, the company said in a blog post. Mira Murati, OpenAI’s chief technology officer, was named interim CEO effective immediately, and a search is underway to identify a permanent successor.

“Mr. Altman’s departure follows a deliberative review process by the board, which concluded that he was not consistently candid in his communications with the board, hindering its ability to exercise its responsibilities,” the blog post announced. “The board no longer has confidence in his ability to continue leading OpenAI.”

OpenAI’s mission is “to ensure that artificial general intelligence benefits all humanity,” and the board says that it remains committed to it. The board consists of OpenAI chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, independent directors Quora CEO Adam D’Angelo, technology entrepreneur Tasha McCauley, and Helen Toner, a director of strategy at Georgetown Center for Security and Emerging Technology.

As part of the transition, Greg Brockman will remain in his role as president of the company but will be stepping down as chairman of the board.

Interest in AI was turbocharged with the release of ChatGPT

Altman co-founded OpenAI, which was formerly a nonprofit company, alongside other Silicon Valley titans including Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, and Reid Hoffman, in 2015. The release of ChatGPT nearly a year ago led to a boom in the generative AI industry, with companies large and small now trying to figure out how to stuff AI into their processes and tools.

Altman, in his time as CEO, has espoused the existential risks of AI and has advocated for AI regulation. This past summer he went on a world tour to meet with leaders, from the Indian prime minister to South Korea’s president, to talk about AI’s potential and risks. Just a week ago, he hosted the company’s first developer’s day conference.