Sam Altman responds after OpenAI suddenly removes him as CEO

Dylan Horetski
OpenAI logo on purple background

OpenAI’s Board of Directors has removed Sam Altman as CEO of the company effective immediately, stating in a press release that they no longer have confidence in his ability to lead the company.

Throughout 2023, OpenAI has skyrocketed in popularity with the release of ChatGPT as the Artificial Intelligence movement began to grow.

Sam Altman has been the face of the company across social media thus far as the CEO of OpenAI, even getting into a meme battle with Twitter’s Elon Musk.

On November 17, 2023, OpenAI’s board of directors revealed that they no longer have the confidence in his leadership abilities and removed him from his role.

Sam Altman no longer CEO of OpenAI

The news was revealed in a blog post on the OpenAI website. In it, they revealed that the company’s Chief technology officer Mira Murati will be taking over as interim CEO as they work to find Altman’s replacement.

“The board of directors of OpenAI, Inc, the 501(c)(3) that acts as the overall governing body for all OpenAI activities, today announced that Sam Altman will depart as CEO and leave the board of directors. Mira Murati, the company’s chief technology officer, will serve as interim CEO, effective immediately,” it reads.

They also went into the details of why Sam Altman is departing, revealing that they did a deliberative review process of the CEO.

OpenAI logo

The blog post says: “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 board no longer has confidence in his ability to continue leading OpenAI.”

OpenAI’s board of directors also shared a statement in the post, explaining that they are grateful for Sam’s many contributions — but they think it’s time for new leadership as they move forward.

“OpenAI was deliberately structured to advance our mission: to ensure that artificial general intelligence benefits all humanity. The board remains fully committed to serving this mission. We are grateful for Sam’s many contributions to the founding and growth of OpenAI,” they said.

“At the same time, we believe new leadership is necessary as we move forward. As the leader of the company’s research, product, and safety functions, Mira is exceptionally qualified to step into the role of interim CEO. We have the utmost confidence in her ability to lead OpenAI during this transition period.”

Sam Altman makes a statement after being let go from OpenAI

In a post on Twitter/X, Sam shared that he “loved his time at OpenAI.”

“I loved my time at openai. it was transformative for me personally, and hopefully the world a little bit. most of all i loved working with such talented people. will have more to say about what’s next later,” he said.

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