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Fallout from the firing of OpenAI's CEO
Investors and employees of OpenAI are pushing to have Sam Altman reinstated as chief executive just two days after he was forced out by the company's board.
SAN FRANCISCO - Investors and employees of OpenAI are pushing to have Sam Altman reinstated as chief executive just two days after he was forced out by the company's board.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Microsoft and venture firm Thrive Capital are helping to orchestrate Altman's return.
Altman's firing came one day after he spoke at the APEC summit.
Much of the immediate shock came down to the board not informing some of the company's most important stakeholders -- including Microsoft.
"I'm keeping my eyes on Microsoft. They came out in support of Sam and frankly, their investments over the past few years -- this is a multi-billion dollar investment…in OpenAI over the years," said Ara Frederick, the Heritage Foundation's tech policy director on Fox & Friends show.
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The Wall Street Journal is reporting that if Altman does return-- "he wants a new board and governance structure."
OpenAI is the artificial intelligence company behind ChatGPT.
Altman has also received a swell of support on social media, and some analysts believe he may be reinstated as CEO.
"There’s talk about him potentially getting the job back, but there are rules that each side has in kind of mending this relationship. According to reporting, one of those things would be that the board needs to change," said Ian Sherr, freelance tech Reporter and analyst.
Board chairman and co-founder Greg Brockman also announced he’s stepping down but staying with the company. Sherr says competing companies may also see the shakeup as their chance to become the leader in AI technology.
"There are many companies who have bet their futures on OpenAI’s technology. They’re actually building their startups on the type of technology Open AI makes. In a lot of ways, just like people kind of believed in Steve Jobs over at Apple, people believe in Sam Altman. I don’t know what that means for the future Open AI if he’s not there," Sherr said.
Altman also tweeted that he enjoyed his time at Open AI, appreciated all the support and that he’ll talk about what’s next for him at a later time.